WHEAT BREAD BATURAS WITH KASHMIRI RAJMA MASALA

Hello everybody, wish you a very happy Sankranthi/Pongal to all you! I will resist cooking any sweets atleast until next month!!:)

Now on to a hearty meal!
I am posting a delicious combination of Kashmiri Kidney beans masala and Wheat Bread Baturas (my mom's style), I made last week.Nothing makes you feel better than sitting down with a plate of comfort food, wouldn't you say?
Rajma is also called Kidney beans in English which is different from Rajma, a Punjabi dish which is also made with Kidney beans I posted a while ago, usually served with rice in India. I am talking about Kashmir grown petite Kidney beans cooked in onion-yogurt masala in this post, not the Rajma dish itself. Did you get all that?:D

I am sending this platter of my comfort food to Meeta from "What's for lunch Honey?" blog for her Monthly Mingle theme of "Comfort Foods". Thanks Meeta!:)

Bread Baturas and Kashmiri Rajma masala:
Serve these soft and delicious Bread Baturas with Rajma masala, sliced red onion and a green chilli pepper. Chilli is just for garnish, don't eat that thing!:D

When I was a teenager growing up in India, bread making and cake baking at home was not the norm. It was a luxury to own the little electric oven and bake quick breads which we used to call cakes! Yeast was not available either, now I hear EVERYTHING is accessible there which is wonderful. To cut the story short, my mom used 3-4 slices of regular white bread to replace the yeast to make Baturas softer than the Aloo Baturas or regular Baturas we made at home. These bread Baturas are that version. I used whole wheat bread to mix with this dough which makes it a tad bit more nutritious and adds a great flavor too!

Baturas made with Whole Wheat bread:


To make Baturas, you need these:

1 1/2 cup plain flour (or white bread flour),
3 slices of whole wheat bread,(Crust is okay too,I add it but you can cut them off)
3 tbsp plain yogurt,
1/2 cup milk to soak the bread,
1 tsp salt.
To make them:
1. First soak the bread in milk for 5 mins, squeeze and mash well until it looks like thick, smooth mashed potato.
2. Add this to flour and all the ingredients, mix and knead to a stiff dough adding just enough water by tbsps. DO NOT make it too soft.
3. Cover and let it rest for atleast for 3-4hrs. Knead again, make bit smaller than Tennis ball size rounds, roll out to 5-6" circles,about 1/8" thick,cover with a towel until the oil heats up. Do not fry until oil is hot to avoid oil clogged Baturas.
4. Heat oil to 375F (hot), then fry each Batura as shown here for Pooris and drain on paper towel. Serve hot.
Note: If you want little stiffer and puffed Baturas than soft, you can add 2 tbsp rice flour or cream of wheat(fine Rava/semolina) to the the flour when mixing and kneading.



Susan from "The well seasoned cook" blog has asked us to cook with beans for her "My Legume Love Affair" event. As we all know, beans and pulses are easiest to cook with for all of us from India. I am sure she will be flooded with Indian dishes full of beans! Here is one from me for you Susan. Enjoy and thanks for hosting!:)



Red Kidney beans in general,are a very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber,minerals,Vitamin B1,Iron, low in cholesterol, provide virtually fat-free high quality protein combined with plain cooked rice, according to WHF foods.
Kashmiri Kidney beans are beautiful in appearance, lot smaller like the size of a Navy beans as you can see in the collage, almost half the size of regular red Kidney beans we usually see in the grocery store with intense red color and very flavorful to cook. Kashmiri Kidney beans are available in dry form in any Indian grocery store. You need to soak them overnight and pressure cook gently until they are soft but still whole, not mushy. This is my own recipe, not my mom's btw!:)

Kashmiri Kidney beans masala:


You need these to feed 4 or more people:

1 1/2 cups of dry Kashmiri Kidney beans (or you can use regular Kidney beans),
1 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp oil,
2 large onions,
1" fresh ginger and 2 large Garlic, ground to paste,
1/2 cup Tomato sauce,
2 tbsp plain yogurt or sour cream,
1/2 tsp chilli pd,
1/4 tsp turmeric,
2 tsp Chickpea flour/Besan (or cornstarch) to thicken
(1 tbsp Coriander seeds powder,
1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds powder,
1/2 tsp Garam masala)

(You can skip all 3 of the above dry spice powders, if you add 2 tbsp of MDH brand Kitchen King Masala you get in the Indian grocery store which gives a great taste. That's what I usually use in this dish)
Aromatics to garnish:
1/4 tsp Cardamom pd,
a pinch of Nutmeg gratings
Cilantro to garnish.

To make Rajma masala:
1. Soak Beans over night, cook in the pressure cooker with some water until soft but whole, not mushy. Set aside.
2. Slice onions,add a cup of water, cover and microwave for 5-10 mins until opaque and soft. Yeah, it stinks but what can you do?:D
3. When onion is cooler, grind in the blender to coarse paste. Set aside.
4. Heat a deep dish, add butter+oil, heat. Add ground onion,salt and turmeric, stir for 5-10 mins on medium heat. Add ginger-garlic paste, stir for 2 mins.
5. Add all the dry spices, mix well. Pour in Tomato sauce,let it cook until you see it thicken and shiny on top for 5-8mins.Adjust the salt and chilli pd.
6. Turn down the heat to low, add yogurt and mix well, simmer for 15mins.
7. Add all the aromatic powder, minced cilantro and mix well. Tastes better the next day or two. Chill in fridge and reheat when needed in the microwave.

Bon Apetit!:))

Enjoy Foodie's Hope and Aroma, have a wonderful week!