CURRY AND SPICE: SPICY SWEET POTATO STUFFED KACHORI

"kahan se shuru karein yaar, mann ma itna emoson jagey... aajkaal kuch jyada hi hai... buddhi jo ho rahi hoon... par duniyadari sikh li hai maine.... apne aap ko khudich samhalna parti hai...".... Why Mumbai lingo all of a sudden? Yesterday, we watched the movie Gully Boy and were back home a little after midnight! I had always been a fan of a Zoya Akhtar style and immensely liked the message in the movie. If you have a dream, chase it. No one is here to rot in a drain.... it may not be as easy to achieve as in a movie, but lets give it a try. This SPICY SWEET POTATO STUFFED KACHORI and the movie going event was just a coincidence. Preparing a kachori and not a kochuri was on my plan for a week now. Look at the picture, last week when I was preparing a koraishutir kochuri for the family, the filling spilled from one or two... It happens with many of us... but I get too irritated. Whatever little I can do.... that should show enough of my love for it... else I am not happy. What I did was, moved away the rolling pin and base... and prepared the smaller ones... I smiled, I danced... my boy ... our Cristine enjoyed... the husband was on tour... the reason why I took up the project yesterday afternoon to have it as our dinner. I totally forgot that we had a movie plan .... around 7 pm the husband called up to say that he is stuck in a meeting, having dinner there... I got pissed off, yelled at him. That is when he told me about the night show plan... thereafter came Soumya's warning message that he wants us near the clubhouse sharp at 8:55pm...

I feel bad if we do not sit together and eat the family dinner... else I could have shed at least four kilos in two months. Thanks to the Almighty that the filling of purple sweet potato and the semolina - refined flour dough was ready. I just cannot go out for merry making without arranging the dinner for A or P ... whatever you may call him or even for Cristine. On such a hurried situation, shaping the kachori / stuffed South Asian Bread in between your palms does help.... Cristine had to wash less utensils... Still wondering why Ipsita had to buy the tickets of Gully Boy, I made them in a jiffy with Cristine always ready to help and did that terrifying photo feature... poorer than what I do usually. However, the taste was awesome! Ipsita got a thumbs up at the end of the movie and Cristine was all praise of it this morning. That Phillippines will never issue me a visa is a different issue altogether! There is still some filling left which I should be able to use by Tuesday! I have reserved 'two ranga' aloo for some 'mishti.'

"Waise bandi ko na nature bahut pasand hai... to photu khichti rehti hai... accha ho ya bura... Yaha to shaher mein nature doondna parta hai!"....

I do not plan ahead a project properly, I am not good at it.... with the South Asian stuffed fluffy breads SPICY SWEET POTATO STUFFED KACHORI, I could not arrange for any make ahead chutneys or sauces... served them with raita, salad, a siracha-mayo sauce ... we are loving the spicy tone of it... they enjoy it on their sandwiches... "main thairi desi... de diye kachori ke saath".... Anyway, I thank our siblings and their spouses for all the fun messages they kept posting yesterday in Whatsapp.... and also thankful to one Mr. R... the champion of humour is a middle aged guy whose mother was a friend of mine. Had she being alive, she would have been 68.... she wished her boy and T to live in the same city.... why boudi is late to call them R and M with their families? In that case, I have to plan the menu with diligence... one is a Bengali with a SriLankan wife, the other Maharashtrian... the common factor is fish... but not hilsa... "ilish yaar apunka area hai... pakka".... As of now, I can treat them virtually with this breakfast / evening tea / coffee time snack... they had been a big support for my blog!

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE SWEET POTATO FILLING]

SWEET POTATO : 3 STANDARD SIZED [I CHOOSE THE PURPLE ONES]
CHOPPED ONION : 1/2COFFEE MUG
CHOPPED GREEN CHILLI : 3TBSP [ADJUST YOURS]
CHOPPED FRESH CORIANDER : 1MEDIUM TEA CUP
CUMIN SEED : 1/2TSP
CHAAT MASALA : 1TBSP
TURMERIC POWDER : 1/4TSP
SALT : AS REQUIRED
OIL : 2TBSP

INGREDIENTS : [FOR THE DOUGH]

REFINED FLOUR : 2COFFEE MUG
SEMOLINA : LITTLE LESS THAN HALF COFFEE MUG
SALT : 1/4TSP
OIL : 1TBSP

INGREDIENTS : [SPICY SWEET POTATO STUFFED KACHORI]

THE FILLING
THE DOUGH
OIL : 100-150ML TO DEEP FRY

PROCEDURE :

For the filling, choose some fresh sweet potatoes. I got home the purple ones.

The miser self never buy the Australian ones. Sabzi fresh honi chahiye, kimti nehi!

Discard the two ends, peel and cut small. Wash and pressure cook at the lowest heat up to 2 whistles adding 2 coffee mugs of water. Strain it.

Let it cool. Mash it. We have the chopped ingredients cut, washed and ready on the kitchen counter. The Chaat Masala is wow so yum!

Heat the oil in a pan or wok and temper with cumin seeds.

Add the sliced onion and stir for 2-3 minutes continuously at medium heat.

Add the chopped green chillies now and stir for another 2-3 minutes.

Add the boiled sweet potato, to it add some salt and the turmeric powder. Fold in well and keep stirring for 4-5 minutes.

Add the chat masala and chopped fresh coriander now. Fold in well and cook for 2 more minutes.

Once done, transfer to a plate and let it be like that for an hour or two. The drier it is, more hassle free.

Now the dough. Take the refined flour, semolina and salt in a bowl and mix well. Add the oil and rub well for 2-3 minutes.

Now add water little by little and prepare a dough. The smooth dough takes some 10-12 minutes to prepare.

Cover it for 15 minutes. Open cover and tear off small balls.

Make a hollow space in each one of them, with a spoon fill in with the hot sweet potato mixture.

Bring together all the sides and close. Cristine does this step pretty well.

Now, instead of using a rolling pin I just pressed lightly in-between my palms. Make sure that your palms are clean. Do not press with fingers... they may spoil. Do not press hard with the palm either.