TOMATO POORI N CHUTNEY ALOO

When some of my friends are already saying this is an innovative idea, I decide not to take all the credits and admit that I have seen a couple of Tomato Poori recipes earlier.... perhaps in that largest food group of India last year ..... I really do not remember who it was .... there were a couple of such posts I remember but I forgot all about the ingredients ..... The chutney aloo has been done with a mixture of yogurt, garlic paste and a generous amount of fresh coriander leaves .... this perhaps I also have come across or I may not have .... I do not remember .... I prepare fish curries with green coriander chutney paste. I have not Google searched also as I was in a hurry to prepare the combo meal and feed my hungry men a scrumptious Indian vegetarian meal. They will have a vegetarian meal without any noise if only there are hand made breads. Though a bit of a hired idea, I prepared this meal of Tomato Poori and Chutney Aloo adding my own inputs. At times forgetting is a boon, we get to know we too can do more than what we think we may. 

You can call it a forgetful mind's self-defence mechanism too. Enjoying the platter together I was just telling the senior .... you see I have never tried to raise my level of performance... so laid back I am.... I do not want the son to be like me. When I praise my fellow bloggers or friends or family members on their achievement, I do it from the bottom of my heart. Would anyone believe if I say how scary I find this box called Computer till date .... and there was one mother who tried all kinds of therapy on the daughter to sharpen her grey matter from "Brahmi Shaak to Brahmi Amla Tel.".... hahaha my actions proves it all .... whimsical, stubborn to the core.... that one little girl of six who came down from the dance stage and never went back .... over a silly, trivial issue. Then she grew up on the lap of one Sister Merilyn, felt that touch of love in the arms of one Bengali teacher Iva Dutta Miss.... who told this fat old lady last month... can you arrange a get together with us S .... I wish to see some people.... then someone who said .... "you can have a blog of your own" .... and then a sister like native of this island .... can you teach me some Indian cooking .... finally the love and support of many people .... irrespective of caste, creed, religion, nation and beyond that.

Isn't that what was taught to us .... sovereign , democratic, secular, republic nation. I still stick to the belief that whatever violence happens are mere stray incidents, yet that should not happen too. Let me take the example of Kolkata as I was brought up there. Every weekend you will see people heading towards the China Town for a taste of Indo-Chinese, they will get their Biryani packets only from Arsalan or Aalia or Shiraz, for fairly good cakes and bakes, an average middle class like me still prefers the neighbourhood Kathleen... We die to have Sharma's Lassi .... or Balaram Mullick's roshogolla, doi, sandesh..... wherein lies the problem then? The power monger's aim holding onto power through divide and rule .... letting us commoners stay in harmony do not serve their purpose. Having religious beliefs or practicing it is not a crime, been overpowered by it like an addiction for opium is definitely not getting us anywhere near good .... in all cases. 

I specially love this island not because it provides us a five star comfort but because it is uber cosmopolitan, people of many nationalities stay here .... no one is bothered who follows what religion .... people work and sweat hard the entire week and let their hair down in the weekend. Back there, when we are fighting over who are majority and who are minority.... kids die of lack of oxygen in the hospital, men and women of all ages need to go out in an unearthly hour of the night to defecate with threats of snake bites, wells full of female foetus are discovered..... how come religion top them all? I definitely shall watch Toilet Ek Prem Katha to support the issue. Saffron and Green stand only for peace and thats how it should be. I remember just a few days before my delivery, the doctor doing an ultrasound could not believe me enough to tell the sex of the child.... it is illegal in India though.  I could not convince the doctor that we both were fighting over the name of the girl... he told it should be after his favourite character Sabrina.... while I said nooooooo it has to be Roopkatha... God sensed severe war at home front.... the boy, our prince made an early arrival in December while the due date was in first week of January.

There off course is a Janmashtami celebration at home today, just that the date is coinciding with a bigger event called Independence Day of secular India .... I am highlighting that for this year. I do not have any problem with my friends doing otherwise .... some of them are intelligent and will understand me ..... some of them are quite indulgent about this dull, silly, stubborn self and love the way I am. Even our laddu Gopal's favourite food is sugar and butter, hahaha.... I am extremely busy today as Laddu Gopal is our family deity.... from the husband's side. 

The mother-in-law ask me not to prepare anything salty, our family norm is to offer mishti and pithe - puli..... sweets, desserts, sweet meats? You all know how much time it takes to prepare luchi / poori, halwa, naru, patishapta, malpua, ladoo .... I am going for the common ones only while enjoying both the fusion and traditional  shares of my friends. I have Cristine to help as the men are only interested in the food. I mentioned her as she does it with much of love and care. Since I have an agenda today and I will stick to that, I wish to share with you this vegetarian platter of Tomato Poori and Chutney Aloo served with a carrot raita. Come let us prepare them together and bring some colour to the plate on an all vegetarian day.

INGREDIENTS : [ for the Tomato Poori]

Ripe Tomato : 2big
Refined Flour : 2 Coffee Mug

Semolina : 1/2 small tea cup size
Asafoetida : 2pinches
Nigella Seed : 1/4tsp
Salt : 2pinches
Red Chilli Powder : 1/4tsp
Oil : 2tbsp +150gm-200gm to deep fry the pooris individually

INGREDIENTS : [ for the Chutney Aloo]

Medium sized Potato : 6-8
Fresh Coriander Paste : 1small cup
Garlic Paste : 1tsp
Plain Yogurt : 1/2small cup
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp[can skip]
Green Chilli : 4-5
Bayleaf : 1
Fenugreek Seed : 1/4tsp
Salt : As Required
Oil : 3-4 tbsp 

METHOD :

Let us prepare the dough for the tomato poori first. Take refined flour in a wide mouthed bowl, add the asafoetida, red chilli powder and salt, fold in well. Wash and cut half the tomatoes. Discard the seeds and chop further. Prepare a paste of them in a blender and add to the flour mix. Fold in well and keep kneading for 3-4 minutes without using water. Add the oil and knead further for 4-5 minutes. It is done and we will keep it to rest for 1/2 an hour covered with a moist cotton cloth.

For the very easy, tasty with fresh flavour of coriander chutney aloo, we will wash, cut half the potatoes first. We will par boil them in enough water. It may take 5-6 minutes. Be careful enough not to over boil them. Let cool.

Once cool, discard the water and peel the skin of the boiled potatoes. Rub with salt and turmeric. Heat the oil in a wok and lightly fry the potato pieces in batches till golden brown. Take them out and let them rest on a tissue paper for sometime.

Temper the same oil with some fenugreek seeds, as you get a nice aroma take out all of them or you may keep. Add a bay leaf to the oil.

Add the garlic paste and stir for 1-2 minutes. Beat the plain yogurt and add to the garlic paste. Fold in well. The pre washed coriander leaves with stem and the green chillies are to be made into a paste in the blender. Discard the roots of the coriander.

Now add the potato pieces to the garlic and yogurt paste and fold in well. Add a small cup of water, stir gently and cover cook for 2-3 minutes at low heat.

Add the chilli coriander paste now and fold in well. We will cook the entire thing for another minute uncovered. Once done we will transfer the chutney aloo to a serving bowl.

Remove the cover from the tomato poori dough. Tear out small portions and smoothen each one between your palms.

Dust each ball with some flour and roll out on your base with help of your rolling pin. Simultaneously, we will heat the oil in a wok and gently place an uncooked poori.

Sprinkle little oil from the sides atop the poori. We need to be careful about the temperature, once burnt we cease to get the right colour for the tomato poori.

Once done, we will serve the fresh, hot tomato poori with the chutney aloo.