Topic started by Rashmi (@ ip68-12-242-59.ok.ok.cox.net) on Mon Oct 28 16:14:42 .
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Hi,
Can you guys suggest some healthy Indian snack items? I mean, are there any spicy snacks that doesn't require frying? I am not very fond of sweets. I like parippu vada, uzhunnu vada,hot mix etc. But they all are fried. does anyone know how to make "puffs" that we get in Kerala?Its a kind of pastry stuffed with meat and vegies. Isn't that baked? I am being curious. But,sure do hope some of you may have some answers.
Thanks..

Responses:

• From: CI (@ d205-67-32079) on: Mon Oct 28 18:09:14
  
  Hi Rashmi,
  I had posted the vegetable puff recipe in Karnataka Recipes thread. You can look at it if you want.
  Bye,
  CI
  
  
• From: Rashmi (@ ip68-12-242-59.ok.ok.cox.net) on: Tue Oct 29 18:29:18
  
  Hi CI,
  thanks for the help. Recipe sounds good. But I've never worked with pastry before. Is it hard to do? I guess to make it non-vegetarian , we may add cooked ground meat,right?
  Thanks again.
  
  
• From: Rashmi (@ ip68-12-242-59.ok.ok.cox.net) on: Tue Oct 29 18:34:58
  
  Also I meant to ask what is amchur powder?
  
  
• From: Hemant (@ h-66-166-22-60.snvacaid.covad.net) on: Tue Oct 29 19:29:45
  
  Hello Rashmi,
  Amchur powder is powdered sour mango.
  Unripe sour mango fruits are dehydrated and then powdered.
  Amchur is used in Norther cuisine where sourness is required.
  
  
• From: CI (@ cs2417433-245.houston.rr.com) on: Tue Oct 29 19:35:52
  
  Hi Rashmi,
  Yes, you can use meat if you want in the filling. If you use pastry sheets (pepperidge farms), it is not at all difficult. If you want to make the sheet at home, it takes time. Let me know if you want the recipe to make the pastry sheet at home.
  
  PS: If you are looking for low fat snack, veg or non-veg puff is not the one. It has more fat than what you'll have in dal wadas or pakodas. In these, it is oil, but in puff pastry sheet, it is saturated fat (usually margarine). In india, they use dalda or vanaspathi which is also saturated fat. I am not discouraging you to try it out, just stating the fact.
  
  Bye,
  CI
  
  
• From: Prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Tue Oct 29 19:40:23
  
  Dear CI,
  
  Please post the recipe for making the pastry sheets. It will help all of us who are not aware of it anyway.
  
  thanks,
  Prabha.
  
  
• From: meena (@ user-105ndc9.dialup.mindspring.com) on: Tue Oct 29 20:33:17
  
  Hi Rashmi,
  Yes u can subsitute the filling for lean ground turkey/lamb. But allow the filling to cool before u roll it into the sheets.
  
  Hi Prabha,
  
  Puff Pastry
  Makes approximately 2 pounds
  
  
  1 pound all-purpose flour, accurately weighed
  1 pound (4 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  1 teaspoon salt
  1 cup heavy cream (or 1/2 cup heavy cream mixed with 1/2 cup ice water)
  
  1. Make the butter dough: In the bowl of a food processor or using the flat paddle of an electric mixer, mix 1/2 cup flour with the butter until very smooth. Shape the mixture into a 1-inch-thick flat square, wrap well in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  
  2. Make the flour dough: In a large mixing bowl, combine salt with the remaining flour, and add cream. Mix the dough well by hand or with an electric mixer; the dough will not be completely smooth, but it should not be sticky. Shape it into a 1 1/2-inch-thick flat square, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
  
  3. Remove the flour dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured board, roll the dough into a rectangle twice as long as the butter-dough square. Place the butter dough in the center, fold up the ends of the flour dough to completely encase the butter dough, and seal the edges by pinching them together. Wrap well in plastic, and chill for at least 30 minutes so that the dough achieves the same temperature throughout.
  
  4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and on a lightly floured board, roll it out into a large rectangle approximately 1/2 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, aligning the edges carefully and brushing off any excess flour. The object is to ensure that the butter is distributed evenly throughout so that the pastry will puff evenly when baked. Wrap the dough, and chill it for at least 30 minutes. This completes one turn.
  
  5. Repeat this process five more times; classic puff pastry gets six turns, creating hundreds of layers of butter between layers of the flour dough (729 to be exact). Use as little flour as possible when rolling out the dough, and always brush off any excess. Remember to let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator between turns, or 15 minutes in the freezer. This chilling makes rolling out the dough much easier and keeps the layers of butter equally thick.
  
  6. By the sixth and final turn, the dough should be very smooth, with no lumps of butter visible. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap; refrigerate until ready to use (for up to 2 days), or freeze for future use.
  
  
  
  Quick Puff Pastry
  Makes 2 pounds
  This is a simple alternative to a classic puff pastry.
  
  1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
  2 cups cake flour(not self-rising)
  1 teaspoon coarse salt
  1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold, cut into small pieces
  1 to 1 1/4 cups ice water
  2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
  1. Sift together all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt into a large chilled bowl. Cut in butter pieces using a pastry knife until the butter is in very small lumps, about 1/2 inch in diameter.
  
  2. Combine ice water and lemon juice, and stir into the flour mixture, a little at a time, pressing the dough together with your hands until it comes together.
  
  3. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured work surface, and roll it into a 1/2-inch-thick rough rectangle, approximately 12 by 18 inches. The dough will be very crumbly. Fold bottom of the rectangle toward the center, then the top of the rectangle toward the center, overlapping the bottom third, like a letter, and give the dough a quarter turn to the right. Roll the dough into a large rectangle, 1/2 inch thick, and fold into thirds again. This completes the first double turn. Remove any excess flour with a wide, dry pastry brush. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning process two more times to execute another double turn, refrigerating the dough for a few minutes if the butter becomes too warm. Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.
  
  4. Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Repeat rolling, folding, and turning process again to execute one more double turn. There will be six turns in all. The dough needs to be rolled out to a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle each time. With each turn, the dough will become smoother and easier to handle. Store the dough, wrapped well in plastic, in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
  
  I prefer/consume the Pepperidge Farms- pastry sheets,I'm pressed for time :(
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Tue Oct 29 21:08:32
  
  Thanks CI. It looks like very time consuming, Can we get the pepperidge farms - Pastry sheets in the regular grocery stores?
  
  Prabha.
  
  
• From: CI (@ cs2417433-245.houston.rr.com) on: Tue Oct 29 21:21:06
  
  Hi Prabha,
  Your thanks go to Meena. You can find the pepperidge farm puff pastry sheets in all the grocery stores in the frozen food section. You might find it in the same isle as fillo dough or turn over sheets.
  If you are living in U.S try in Kroger, H.E.B( only in south), Albertson etc
  Hope that helps.
  
  Bye,
  CI
  
  
• From: Prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Wed Oct 30 00:57:00
  
  Thanks CI. I have an albertson near by, so I can check it out. I was just going thru the Karnata recipe and I was dumbfounded. Biy, you knwo lot of recipes. How did you manage to learn all these?
  I did not see any recipe on Modakam. Do you have a recipe for it?
  
  Thanks in advance.
  
  Prabha.
  
  
• From: Mini (@ adsl-33-109-200.asm.bellsouth.net) on: Wed Oct 30 01:07:00
  
  Hi Prabha,
  
  Here is a Modakam recipe I found on the net. Is that what you are looking for?
  
  http://www.bawarchi.com/festivals/ganesh.html
  
  
• From: Prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Wed Oct 30 11:46:38
  
  Mini,
  
  Thanks for checking it out for me. I saw this recipe, and it looks little than the one I had eaten in India. Thanks again.
  
  Prabha
  
  
• From: CI (@ cs2417433-245.houston.rr.com) on: Wed Oct 30 12:00:02
  
  Hi Prabha,
  The one that you are asking is (if I am right) white in color and looks like the chocolate kiss's package (shape). The covering is made of rice flour and stuffing is usually jaggery with coconut (you can use different stuffing also). After shaping it, it is steamed. If this is the recipe you are looking for, let me know. I'll post it when I find time.
  
  Bye,
  CI
  
  
• From: meena (@ user-11fadfl.dsl.mindspring.com) on: Wed Oct 30 13:13:52
  
  Hi prabha,
  I guess u must be looking for karjikai-(deep fried ones)http://www.southnexus.com/chowthi_recepies.php
  
  I've my mom's receipe for either steam/fried modakam/kadabbu, if u are still interested!
  
  
• From: Prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Wed Oct 30 13:34:34
  
  Thanks CI and Meena. I am looking for the one that is steamed rather than fried. If any of you have that one, please post it. I tried making once, but it turned out to be very sticky. don't know why.
  
  Thanks,
  
  Prabha.
  
  
• From: CI (@ cs2417433-245.houston.rr.com) on: Wed Oct 30 22:32:02
  
  Hi Prabha,
  Since you have already tried it once, I'll not post the recipe for making the filling. (Make sure that the filling does not have water content in it).
  To make the dough (covering), you need to boil water with a table spoon of oil and a pinch of salt. When it starts boiling, add the rice flour as a heap and mix well on reduced flame. It has to become like a mass. Put off and when it cools down a little bit, knead it well with oiled hands. Make small ball**s of the dough. Oil your hands and press the dough to make a circle (thinner the thickness, the better). Keep the filling, draw the edges and twist all of them in the shape of the kiss chocolate . Place it on a greased plate and steam it like idlis (Make sure that one modak is not touching the other and the plate you have placed these things on doesn't get water from the cooker.). This is how I make.
  
  Bye,
  CI
  
  
• From: prabha (@ c-24-130-153-38.we.client2.attbi.com) on: Fri Nov 1 00:52:57
  
  thanks CI. I will try and let you know how it turned out. Thanks again.
  
  Prabha
  
  
• From: Rashmi (@ ip68-12-43-127.ok.ok.cox.net) on: Tue Nov 5 13:30:57
  
  Thanks CI, Hemant and Meena! Sorry ,I disappeared after requesting the recipe. Got busy you know.
  So is there a substitute for amchur powder or is it a must?
  Thanks again CI, for the nutritional fact. I didn't think abaout it so deeply. But anyway, I used to love puffs when I was in India. So what the heck..I'll give it a try. But again aren't there any healthy indian (spicy)snack then? Something like pretzels??
  
  Meena, thanks for the posting the pasrty dough recipe. Boy, it sounds like a pain in (you know where). Just kidding. I am sure it'll get easier with practice. But I really don't know if I have that much patience. I might go with the ready made dough as well.
  Thanks again guys.
  
  
  
• From: Nicole (@ ) on: Sat Mar 8 22:40:43
  
  can u give me the defination and history about karjikai
  
  
• From: madhu (@ ) on: Wed Aug 20 05:13:54
  
  there is one more recipe to stuff inside modakam. instead of coconut and jagerry you can use udad dal stuffing.
  
  method,
  
  first soak dal may be one cup for 1 hr.add chilly dhania leaves hing and salt and grind coursly. steam it and stuff inside the rice paste.andf steam it for 10 mts. thus your udad dal modak is ready.karanji is made of maida it is like samosa stufed with sweet coconut mava jagerry and elaichi.
  
  

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