Sunday, April 1, 2012

Columbus Trip Days 2 & 3: Learning How to Make Indian Food

One of the best experiences in our trip to Columbus was not only eating, but learning how to make Indian Dishes.  I've been a big fan of Indian Cuisine for many years now, and what a treat it has been to have Indian friends and colleagues who can actually show you how to make their food... So despite looking like an eager beaver geek following their every (kitchen) move, I took the opportunity of taking photos of each step in the process.  For the first dish, it's called "Chat Papdi" which is actually a kind of street food in India, though I find it to be very canapé-ish and sosy hehehe!

Lay the Papdis on a nice tray (ours were store-bought so no need to make them from scratch).  Add Chickpeas Masala and chopped red onions.


Add green and tamarind chutney, sev, and cilantro.


Smile for the camera - you've just made your first Chat Papdi!
And there's another variation (with the same toppings) but with potato pancakes! 


I loved how the different spices and textures danced happily in my mouth.  Cilantro gave it an extra kick!
 It's like Indian "nachos".

On Day 3 (just this morning), we cooked Puri, a staple Indian breakfast food item, similar to Naan, but smaller and a little thinner.  I had the most fun with this and I think hubby liked this the best.

It started as a sort of bread dough made of whole wheat flour so I just had to roll it into golf-ball-size portions.  Then we flattened each ball using this cool kitchen gadget (it's like a panini/waffle maker).



Then they were deep fried in vegetable oil until they got puffy...  We served with potatoes (with mustard seed gravy), scrambled eggs, and fresh fruits.  Yummy!  



I have yet to get the full recipes of these dishes, but I think they can be easily googled.  It's just really interesting and fun to actually do them in an Indian household as I felt it's the most authentic experience!






12 comments:

  1. My mouth is watering!!! Why can't food like this magically appear anytime we want it... ;-) After marrying an Indian and learning about Indian cooking, I think I crave Indian food about 2x a week now, at least!
    I love chat too - in fact there was this hole-in-the-wall Indian chat place I went to in Columbus some years ago...(forgot the name of the place) but home-cooked like what you experienced I bet is WAAAAAY better!
    What a fun weekend - I'm jealous! :) My lunch right now pales in comparison. Sigh.

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  2. Awww Mia! Haha! Then you should always have Indian food at home! Have you tried making butter chicken or tandoori? They are my favorites!

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    1. I haven't actually - but we've tried something like the "kebabs" you posted - with the peppers and paneer marinated in yogurt and the spices - not cooked in an actual tandoor though (wish our conventional apartment came outfitted with a tandoor... among other things like an 8-burner Viking... but that's wishful thinking, haha). We actually did have Indian food last night though - hubby came home from his work trip and we had simple dal and roti :) It's become comfort food for me now!

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    2. Oh by the way, have you tried Maneet Chauhan's (sp?) restaurant in Vermilion (in Chicago)? I remember it was one of the restaurants I looked up before my trip... it's Indian and Latin American fusion but they also have traditional dhaba food - including butter chicken I believe... but we ended up not being able to go (so much food, so little time!)

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  3. hmmm sarap! I miss our food trip escapades, Dianne. Hunting for new restau and different type of food. Remember the greek restau we loved in Chicago? Then later on, we went to visit it again with Sandra? hayyy kakamiss!

    This is one of the things I miss with Accenture (and being onshore)... meeting diversed set of people and making friends along the way and then trying their homecooked traditional food haha!

    I'm glad you're having a lot of fun in Chicago! :)

    Spanish Pinay

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    1. i know... "sounds like greek"!!! this activity de-stresses me!

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  4. Didi, this looks great! It's really making me crave for some Indian food right now.

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    1. Try New Bombay at Salcedo I think (forgot the street name).

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  5. ooooh, that looks delish. Dito rin ang mga Brits they love Indian food. Some of them we've tried making ourselves but others look complicated. I love it when my Indian colleagues bring in homecooked food, super sarap!
    I'll look forward to your post when you try these yourself =)

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    1. Thanks Kris! I have only so far tried Butter Chicken (made from bottled sauce hehe)! Will definitely try to do them from scratch soon!

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  6. Wow! The food looks yummy! :)
    Maybe I can ask hubby to cook for me. =)

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    1. Why not! You're lucky your hubby can cook! Though I don't really mind being the cook in the house!

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