ALOO BHATURA-LAHORI CHOLEY-NARIAL MURGH!

Look what I have here for you this week!!! A unique and a delicious plate of authentic Punjabi food Aloo Bhature with Lahori Choley! Lahori Choley(new to me!) is originated in Lahore, Pakistan and is a Punjabi Choley with a twist!!:D

I found this "Lahori Choley" recipe in one my Indian Punjabi cookbooks.I have never heard of this before and I thought what's Lahori Choley?! Is she writing about Pindi Channa or Choley which is from Rawalpindi,Pakistan?! But no,it was Lahori Choley,with a recipe slightly different from the usual Pindi channa.I googled "Lahori Choley" to learn more about it.I couldn't find any info for quite sometime and then to my delight ,I found "Chikkar Choley" from Lahore,Pakistan. Aha!!Very interesting!!!

I learned that Chikkar or Chikkad means "muddy" in Punjabi and Chikkar choley is named so because some Chickpeas are mashed in the sauce to make the dish look like little pebbles sunken in the mud ie reddish sauce.Reminds me of "Mud pie" I know!;D

To make the authentic Lahori choley sauce look more brownish,add a teabag while cooking the chickpeas and discard the tea bag and the water and add Anardana pd(dry Pomegranate pd)and don't add tomatoes to the sauce.

I have already posted a Aloo chole with Bhatura and Lassi and I wanted to make something different ie mess around with the good old Bhature to make Aloo Bhatura by adding Potato and a potato with Lahori Choley too and for non-vegetarians,I made a delicious and easy Narial Murgh (using coconut milk with chicken) to dip the Aloo bhaturas in, if that's what you like.Hope you didn't doze off reading all this.Now WAKE UP and start cooking err..enjoy looking!:)


Lahori(Chikkar) Choley:
(Chickpeas swimming in the creamy sauce; dish from Lahore,Pakistan)


You Need:
1 lb Can of Chick Peas or Garbanzo beans,1 Small Potato(optional),3 Plum Tomatoes ground or 1/2 cup Tomato sauce,2 large Onions,minced,1" Ginger,2 small Garlic minced,1 tsp Chilli Powder,1/4 tsp turmeric,1/2 tsp paprika,1 tsp fennel seeds pd,1/4 tsp cardamom pd,1 tbsp Coriander pd,2 tsp cumin pd,1 tsp Garam Masala,2 tsp Amchoor( Mango Powder) or Anardana pd if you have it,Cilantro,lemon slices for Garnish.

How to make Lahori Choley:
1. Heat 2 tsp oil and 1 tbsp butter ,fry 2 minced onions until soft. Add ginger-garlic paste,stir for a minute.Add in chilli pd,1/4 tsp turmeric,paprika, salt ,ground tomatoes or sauce,saute until oil shows on top on medium heat.
2. Add 1 cubed and cooked potato(optional),chick peas and 1 cup water. Pressure cook on very heat or just cover and cook until chick peas are tender.Mash some of the chickpeas into the sauce to make it thick and creamy.
3. Add Amchur or Anardana ,fennel pd,cardamom pd and garam masala,mix well.Simmer for 5 mins.Add cilantro to garnish and serve with a slice of lemon with Aloo Bhatura.


Aloo-Bhature:
(Potato-Plain flour fried bread; from India)


You Need:
2 Cups Plain Flour,1 cup Potato flakes or 1 large Potato cooked and mashed,1 tbsp Cream Of Wheat(Semolina),2 tbsp Plain Yogurt,1/4 cup (more or less) hot water to mix,
1 tsp salt,1/2 tsp Baking Powder.

How to make it:
1. Mix potato flakes(if you are using it)with enough hot water to make a stiff lump and mix that with flour etc or mix all the above ingredients with cooked and mashed potato first and add 1/4 cup hot water little by little to make a fairly stiff dough and knead. Apply some oil on the dough and cover. Let it rest for 1-2 hrs.
2. Divide the dough into 6-8 pieces and roll them out to about 6" circles 1/8" thickness.
3. Heat enough oil in a wide pan to 350F, fry each Bhatura until it is very slightly golden and drain on the paper towels.
4. They should be little soft and still creamish in color after frying,do not over fry.
5. Serve hot with Lahori Choley ,onion slices,lemon slices and with a glass of lassi(salty or sweet Yogurt drink) to have an authentic Punjabi meal! Enjoy:))

Note:Potato makes these thicker and softer to scoop up the beans.Aloo bhaturas are best eaten right after frying,it becomes little chewy after it's cooled.Fry just until they are golden and don't worry if they don't puff up like regular Bhaturas or pooris.They feel like yeast bread in texture.


A meal for you with Aloo-Bhature and Lahori chikkar Choley:



Narial Murgh:
(Chicken cooked with Coconut milk; my own style!)


You Need:
2 lb Chicken breast and thigh meat mixed,cut into bite sized pieces,1 tbsp each oil and butter.
Grind all these to paste:2 medium Onion chopped and fried,1" ginger,2 garlic,3-4 plum tomatoes or any kind you have,1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds,1 tsp Cumin seeds,2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp pepper,1" cinnamon(dalchini),3 cloves,1/4 tsp cardamom seeds,a little piece of Mace and Nutmeg,1/4 tsp turmeric,2-3 red chillies or 1 tsp Chill pd,little paprika or Annatto pd for color,salt.
1/2 can of coconut milk,1/4 tsp garam masala,cilantro.

How to make it:
1. Fry onion in 1/2 tbsp oil until reddish.Add to the blender along with all the other ingredients except coconut milk,GM and cilantro and grind to a smooth paste.
2. In a pressure pan,add the rest of the oil and butter.When hot,add the ground sauce,keep stirring and cook until thick and it leaves the side of the pan.
3. Put in the chicken pieces,stir fry until they turn white.Add 1 cup of water,cover and cook on low heat for 10 mins in a pressure pan or until tender in the pan.Make sure heat is on low to prevent burning the bottom of the pan.
4. Take the lid off,mix well.Still on low heat,add coconut milk and mix gently.Simmer for 10 mins,stirring often.
5. Adjust the salt and chilli pd,add garam Masala,cilantro and serve with Aloo Bhaturas,Parathas or even rice.
6. If you want the sauce thicker,add 1 tbsp of potato flakes and mix with hot sauce.

That's about it this week!!

A DMC reminder to all moms!
May 13th is Mother's day as you know.If you have any interesting stories about your experience as a mother yourself or want to say hi to your own mom,please share at Desi Momz Club this every Thursday to Saturday or any day if you have something to share.Info on the sidebar,click to go there.Thanks:))

Well..hope you try some of these and enjoy the new tastes,that is if these are new to you as well.Have a great weekend!:))