The art of making Phulka

What is special about this flat bread is it is made on a gas flame and allowed to raise/fluff up without yeast or baking powder.

Phulka/pulka is an exciting variety of Indian flat bread. What is special about this flat bread is it is made on a gas flame and allowed to raise/fluff up without yeast or baking powder. The procedure looks pretty simple, but get this- it ain’t as simple as it sounds or looks. To get the bread to rise, you need perfect dough, which is perfectly rolled out into a circle. When I mean perfect, I literally mean the dimensions. In case you miss out on even a small aspect it just wouldn’t raise when you put it on the gas flame. It takes a lot of practice to get this right and not many can master it overnight. Now here is the best part- Phulka/pulka is great in terms of nutrition. Made from whole wheat it contains minimal calories (probably around 70 cal/per bread) and it can be eaten with any curry/dal of your choice. It is a staple food in North India and down south; you will hardly find this variety of roti/bread.

The art of making Phulka/pulka

Recipe type: Main

Author: Suchitra Vaidyaram

A healthier staple food in North India, these roti’s can be dunked in any gravy to fill your stomach!

Ingredients

• 2 cups of wheat flour
• dash of salt
• water for kneading
• a tsp of oil

Instructions

1. In a big bowl, mix the flour with salt and with the help of water start kneading the flour. Ensure you take time to do this and you don’t hurry up with this process.
2. Don’t dump too much water and keep pouring water as when required to bring the flour to a dough consistency.
3. Keep kneading till you get good, soft dough.
4. Towards the end add a bit of oil to give it a glossy texture.
5. Once the dough is ready, place it in a container with lid and store it in fridge.
6. I have always found that when the dough gets to sit in the fridge for 5 to 7 hours it helps. I have never found success in using the dough immediately- it never fluffs up when put on flame.
7. Take a small ball of dough and flatten it with a rolling pin.
8. Ensure you roll it evenly. This step is crucial to the success of your roti getting fluffed up when you put on flame.
9. Once rolled out, place it on a hot pan and allow both the sides to cook.
10. You will notice that it starts to fluff up a bit.
11. Now place one side of the roti on a high gas flame and allow it to bloat like a balloon. It happens within a second.
12. With the help of tongs flip it to the other side.
13. Allow it to fluff up for a second time.
14. Don’t overdo and burn/char your roti.
15. It should be done within seconds and removed from flame within seconds.
16. Please be cautious when you are using the flame.

Soya Chunks and Mixed Vegetable Rice

Using soya is a great way to pack some proteins into your rice. With a little seasoning, it’s a delicious side dish.

Soft and spungy soya chunks are full of proteins and can be cooked pretty easily. They do not have a strong taste on their own and tend to adopt the flavors that we cook them with. You can whip them into a curry or add them to rice or stir fry them with Indian spices. It’s a one pot (pan)dish packed with proteins and can be customized to suit your palette!

Soya Chunks and Vegetable Mixed Rice

Author: Suchitra Vaidyaram

Pack in some proteins with this flavorful rice!

Ingredients

• Soya chunks- washed and boiled (1 cup)
• Chopped Carrots & baby corn (1/2 cup)
• Basmati rice (1 1/2 cup)
• 1 dry red chilli (broken in two pieces)
• 2 medium sized onion (chopped)
• 2 tomatoes (chopped)
• 4-5 cloves to garlic- crushed
• Garam Masala- 1 tsp
• 1/2 tsp Paprika powder
• Salt according to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• Cooking oil/clarified butter for cooking

Instructions

1. Wash the rice and keep aside for 1/2 hour
2. Squeeze the water out of the boiled soya chunks and set aside.
3. Melt some clarified butter (or you can just use oil) in a non stick pan and add cumin seeds.
4. As they begin to sputter add bay leaf, red chilli and allow the oil to soak up the flavor.
5. Add chopped onions and garlic and saute till the onion begins to turn golden brown.
6. Add tomatoes, carrots, baby corn with soya chunks and fry them for couple of minutes.
7. Blend in the washed rice and add around 1 1/2 to 2 cups of water.
8. Add salt, garam masala and paprika powder.
9. Mix well and allow the rice to cook- Put the gas on a medium flame and put a lid and cook till the rice is soft and well boiled.
10. Once cooked, switch off the flame, mix the rice well and garnish it with chopped coriander leaves.
11. Serve with dal or any curry of your choice.

Published  @ Honest Cooking -http://honestcooking.com/2012/02/01/soya-chunks-mixed-vegetable-rice-recipe/

Whole Wheat Pizza...

Health-up your pizza with whole-wheat, tomatoes, olives and bell peppers. 


There were days, in my good old past when I was absolutely hooked to pizza. Honestly, if Dominoes were thinking of bringing in some promotion/discount/offers, probably, I would have been the first person to receive that by mail. Now, I try to stay away (sorry, you don’t win a prize for guessing why). With so many alternate healthy options in the market, I realized, pizzas can be done in a healthier way! This is my first ever attempt at making a whole wheat pizza and I have to admit, it doesn’t taste different. It tasted sumptuous and if you don’t overdo the cheese, it can be a much healthier option. For my first attempt, I tried to play safe by mixing whole wheat flour and all purpose flour together. Next time, I might get more innovative and try just the whole wheat. Easy to make and sumptuous to taste, what else can you ask for?

Whole-Wheat Pizza

Pizza doesn’t have to be unhealthy always.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp quick-rising yeast
• warm water
• olive oil- 1 tbsp
• salt-1/2 tsp
• sugar-1/4 tsp
• Good Pizza sauce-
• Toppings- 2 small onions (sliced), 1/2 cup sliced black olives, 1 tomato chopped, 1 green bell pepper sliced

Instructions

1. Dissolve yeast in a small cup of warm water and sugar. Allow it to rest for 5 minutes in a corner.
2. The yeast would start frothing up.
3. Combine whole wheat flour and all purpose flour with salt in a big bowl and make a small well in the middle.
4. Pour the yeast mixture and slowly start mixing the flour.
5. With the help of warm water knead the flour into a smooth dough.
6. Add around a tbsp of olive oil to make the dough smooth and elastic.
7. Store the dough in a fresh bowl and cover it with damp cloth. Allow it to raise for an hour.
8. After an hour or so, when the dough has doubled in size simply punch out the air from it and gently knead it on a floured surface.
9. Roll out the pizza and drizzle some olive oil on top.
10. Spread pizza sauce and desired toppings- I used sliced onions, sliced black olives, sliced green bell peppers and chopped tomatoes.
11. Top it with shredded mozzarella cheese and season it with salt and pepper.
12. If need be, drizzle in some olive oil.
13. Bake the pizza in a preheated oven till the base is crisp and golden (15-20 min, @200 deg celsius)

Notes

Get a good pizza base sauce from the store or you can make it at home by sautéing tomato puree with garlic in olive oil. Add salt and black pepper to season and bring it to a sauce consistency.
You can caramelize your onions with bell peppers and olives for topping (optional).

Published  @ Honest Cooking -http://honestcooking.com/2012/01/24/perfectwhole-wheat-pizza-recipe/