Wednesday, February 1, 2012

An exciting medley of flavours!

Baby in bed - check
Movie to watch - check
Yummy dinner with minimum effort - check
That Friday night was a treat for us! 

It all began over coffee 'n' scone late that afternoon. Having just come back from India, husby and I were rambling about all the eating we had done there. Our (at least mine) taste buds hadn't yet accepted that the holiday was over, and the scone wasn't doing anything for me. I needed something tangy, something with that punch, you know? And husby was not willing to drive me all the way to Parramatta, 'just for a plate of chat', in his words. He tried reasoning it out, pointing out that the traffic would be mad that time of the day and most importantly the (tennis) match would begin at 7 something. Pah! Anyway, he did promise to take me there the next day though. But 'tomorrow' wasn't good enough for me, I wanted chat and that was it.
So then of course we stopped by at the Indian store, picked up a couple of things so I could make it all at home and headed back home with a happy and convinced husby. And that's how that Friday night was a treat :) I made bhel puri and papdi chat for dinner and we watched Nanban, while baby slept peacefully, oh bless her!

Not that it is a very elaborate procedure for me to actually blog about it...it's just a simple assembly once you have all the ingredients ready! Everything, you should be able to get easily at an Indian grocery store. Also, there is no set quantity/measurement or anything, just go by what you like. Easy peasy :) Here's what I used -

  • store bought papdi
  • store bought tamarind chutney (you could make your own)
  • store bought green chilly chutney
  • ok...so I'll stop saying 'store bought' :-)
  • fine sev
  • yogurt
  • finely chopped onion
  • finely chopped tomato
  • grated carrot
  • finely chopped fresh coriander
  • finely chopped cucumber (optional)
  • boiled and mashed potato
Method (like there is one, sheesh!)
  1. Take out your favourite plate (how big or small is up to you)
  2. Arrange (whole, undamaged) papdis in one layer, all over the plate
  3. Top with rest of the ingredients, starting with onion, boiled potatoes, carrot, tomato, some tamarind chutney, green chutney and yogurt. 
  4. Finally sprinkle chopped coriander and a generous amount of sev.
  5. Enjoy!
And the best part is, all the stuff you bought will last for at least a couple of more chat episodes :)

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