Monday, March 30, 2015

Poori ( Puffed fried whole wheat Indian bread); Meatless Monday



Poori is a very common bread made in India. It is basically small chapatis/ rotis that have been fried and are usually puffy. The upside is that this is very tasty, I myself am very fond of it but I rarely make it as it is not very healthy. Why isn't it healthy? Because it is deep-fried in oil. So then why am I including this here??? Because once in a while indulging is not such a bad thing to do and it is really super-easy to make. The easy to make part caught your attention right? When I first started making chapatis and pooris, I always found making pooris easier than making chapatis. I always had a problem making perfectly round chapatis. Pooris are more forgiving.
Also there are many people out there who don't know how to make pooris!

Servings: 2-4


Ingredients: to make 6-8 small- medium sized pooris


Whole Wheat flour: 1 cup
Cooking oil: 1  tbsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Lukewarm water: 1/2 cup ( you may not require all of it).

Method:


In a bowl mix together the flour, oil, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center. Add water little bit at a time and make a nice, soft dough.



Knead well and make a ball. Apply oil to the outside of the ball. Cover with a damp cloth/ paper towel and keep aside for 30 min- 1 hour.

Pinch little portion of the dough to make small lemon sized balls.


Now roll out the balls to make small pooris.


Heat oil in a wok/ kadai on medium flame. When the oil is hot enough, drop the poori in it and with the back of a slotted spoon gently press it down into the oil.


This will help the poori puff up. When the poori puffs up and floats to the surface of the oil, flip it and let it cook for few seconds on the other side.



Now remove it from the oil and drain it on paper towels.




Serve hot with potato bhaji/ Chole/ or any side dish of your choice!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:


When rolling  out the dough, make sure that it is even and that you don't roll it out too thin. It shouldn't be too thick either. If it is too thin, it will not puff up and if it is too thick, the inside will not be cooked.

Tip for healthy living:


Whenever you find the urge to eat something unhealthy, for example: fried food like poori/ fried fish/ fried chicken etc. , pair it with healthy foods. For example: poori with some mixed vegetable dish, fried fish/ chicken with some healthy salad or vegetable stir-fry . This way you will have a balance in your diet and you will not be totally compromising your diet. Also, eat only one serving of the unhealthy stuff. This way you would have satisfied your craving without jeopardizing your health.


Food for thought:


Knowledge is power. Francis Bacon

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