Staple breakfast of North India- Bedmi puri and aloo sabzi

If anyone has gone out in the morning in North India especially UP and Bihar, they would smelled the amazing fragrance of puris made with urad filling and potato curry wafting through the air. This is a staple breakfast in North India and one can see long queues at famous joints in the morning. I tried to make a simpler version of it by mixing the urad spice mix in the dough rather than using it as filling. Couple that with some soothing aam panna and it was a good summer meal. So let's start cooking.

Bedmi Puri: This is the name given to the urad puris that you get in North India. Some use urad daal as stuffing and some mix it in the dough itself. Latter is easier so I tried that way.

Ingredients: Mixture- Urad Daal ( soaked for 2 hrs) - 3/4 cup, Ginger ( roughly chopped) - 1/2 inch, Green chilli ( rhougly chopped) - 1, Red chilli powder - 1 tsp, Coriander powder - 1 tsp, Garam masala - 1/2 tsp, Fennel - 1 tsp, Kasuri methi - 1 tsp, Salt - 1 tsp; For dough- Wheat flour - 1+3/4 cup, Semolina - 1/2 cup, Luke warm water - 1/2 cup, Ghee - 2 tbsp; Oil for frying

Steps:

i. Make a coarse paste of urad daal, salt, ginger and green chilli

ii. Heat a pan with some ghee in it and add the urad mix in it

iii. Add all the dry spices and saute well until mixture turns brown

iv. Keep it aside to cool down

v. While the mixture is cooling prepare the mix the wheat flour and semolina together and add ghee into it for shortening

vi. Once you get a crumbly dough, add the urad daal mix and knead with some water to a dough which is soft enough for a puri

vii. Keep the dough aside for 15 mins and cover it with a damp cloth

viii. After 15 minutes, heat oil in a deep bottom pan and fry your puris in it

Serve them hot with some aloo ki sabzi and enjoy.

Aloo Sabzi: This is the quintessential companion to bedmi puris. Super spicy and super easy to make. You can make a big batch and eat it over few days as they don't have onion or garlic in them.

Ingredients: Khade masale - Cumin - 1tsp, Fennel ( crushed) - 1 tsp, Red chillies - 2, Anaardana - 1 tsp, Kasuri methi - 1 tsp; Dry spices - Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp, Turmeric powder - 1 tsp, Red chilli powder - 1 tsp, Besan ( roasted) - 1 tbsp; Ginger ( finely chopped) - 1 inch; Green chilli ( finely chopped) - 2; Fenugreek seeds ( soaked) - 2 tsp;Potatoes ( boiled with some anaardana, peeled and mashed roughly) - 5 medium; Jaggery - 1tbsp; Coriander leaves ( finely chopped) - 1 tbsp; Ghee - 2 tbsp; Salt as per taste; Water - 2 cups

Steps:

i. Heat ghee in a deep bottom pan and add all dry spices except kasuri methi, ginger and green chilli and saute well

ii. Once they are sauted well add all the dry spices except besan and saute them well until dry spices are roasted a bit

iii. Now add salt, water, boiled potatoes, fenugreek seeds and mix well

iv. Let the mixture simmer for 5 mins and now add the roasted besan to thicken the gravy and stir well

v. After 2 minutes of stirring add kasuri methi and jagger to the misture and mix well

vi. Let the mixture simmer on medium to low heat for 10 minutes until you get the desired consistency

vii. Now add the chopped coriander leaves and mix for 2 minutes

Serve hot with some bedmi puris and enjoy!!!

Aam panna: During summer you will find a lot of street hawkers selling aam pana. It is made out of raw mangoes and is a great thirst quencher. I tried a variant of it where instead of boiling the raw mangoes I roasted them to give a smoky flavour. Turned out super tasty.

Ingredients: Raw mango ( roasted and peeled) - 1.5 medium; Water - 1/3 cup; Salt to taste; Fennel seeds (soaked in water) - 2 tsp; Ginger ( peeled and roughly chopped) - 1/2 inch; Sugar - 2 tbsp; Masala - Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp, Green cardamom - 1, Black peppercorn - 3, Salt to taste ( black + common salt)

Steps:

i. Roast the masala for 2 minutes and grind to a fine powder

ii. Mix all the other ingredients together and make a thick paste

iii. Add the masala in the paste and mix well

iv. You can keep this mixture in fridge for 3-4 days

Add 2-3 tbsp of mixture in a glass, add water and ice and enjoy!!