Makai ki Roti

Makai Ki Roti is a traditional dish from Punjab (India) and normally served with Sarson Ka Saag. The rotis are generally made by hand without the use of the rolling pin. I am not very good at this technique. I have done this before and ended up with shapes resembling that of the map of India and various other countries !

Hence, in this recipe, I have added a bit of wheat flour to the maize flour to make it pliable and easier to handle. I managed to roll them out nicely though the dough needs to be handled with care as it will break at the edges while rolling it out into rotis.
All said and done, it turned out well – tastewise and appearance wise too. I also had the approval of my spouse.  We had a few rotis for lunch today and I am planning to prepare this again for breakfast tomorrow from the leftover dough. 

Ingredients:

Maize flour	1 cup
Whole wheat flour	1/4th cup
Ajwain (carom) seeds	1 tsp
Jeera (cumin) seeds	1 tsp
Haldi (turmeric) powder	1/4th tsp
Salt	1 tsp OR as per taste
Soda or Eno	1/2 tsp
Curds	1/4th cup
Water	1/4th cup OR as required

Method:

1. Crush ajwain and jeera seeds together and keep it aside.
2. In a bowl, add maize flour, whole wheat flour, crushed ajwain and jeera seeds mixture, turmeric powder, salt, soda/eno and curds. Mix it well.
3. Next add water little at a time and knead it into a soft pliable dough. Keep it covered for about 20 mins.
4. After 20 minutes, make medium size balls. Dust each ball with maize flour and roll it into moderately thick rotis with the help of a rolling pin.
5. Then heat a griddle/tawa and place the rolled out roti on it. After a few seconds, flip it on other side and fry it on the other side too. Keep the griddle on a low flame. Do not add oil or ghee while frying.
6. When light brown spots appear on both the surface, remove and place it on a plate.
7. In this way, prepare all the rotis.
8. Serve hot with a dollop of home-made white butter or with a bowl of curds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preparation time: 20 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Makes : 10 rotis of about 6 inches in diameter

Note:

• This is ideal for breakfast and can also be served during lunch.
• It tastes excellent with a dollop of home-made butter. But weight-watchers can also relish this with curds.
• These rotis are a slight twist to the original Makai ki Roti.

Mango Ice-cubes and Ice-Candies

Last week, it was raining mangoes in my house. It so happened that my spouse bought some Alfonso and Mallika (local) mangoes. And a day later, one of my friends visited me in passing and brought some Baiganpally (produce of Hyderabad) mangoes. Then, my spouse's friend who dropped by brought with him some mangoes saying that they are Mallika mangoes which were grown in their backyard. And lastly my neighbour, who was vacationing in Madurai, brought some mangoes, from Trivandrum. So you see, I had a variety of mangoes to eat and I am not complaining! I love mangoes (though I am partial towards Alphonso) and all these are extremely sweet and pulpy ones. So, I believe, when God gives you mangoes, make mango ice-cubes and candies!  

To make mango ice-cubes, I used the ice-cube tray and for the ice-candy, I used the kulfi mould and ice-cream sticks (wooden).

Mango Lassi, Mango Salsa and Fruit Mattoo are some of the other recipes that you can make during the mango season. I have already posted them in my blog. 

Ingredients:

Mangoes	2
Milk (optional)	1 small cup
Sugar (optional)	As per taste

Method:

1. Wash and peel the mangoes. Then roughly cut them into chunks.
2. Put the chunks in a blender and blend them until smooth.
3. If you are using milk, add them along with the mango pieces and blend them until smooth.
4. Keep an ice-cube tray, kulfi moulds and the ice-cream sticks ready.
5. Now gently pour the prepared mango puree into the ice-cube tray and the kulfi moulds.  In the kulfi moulds insert the ice-cream sticks in the centre.
6. Freeze the tray and the moulds until solid. This may take about 3-4 hours or keep it overnight.
7. To unmould the cubes and the candies, run hot water around the outside (of the tray and the mould) for a very brief moment. The cubes and the candies will slide out smoothly.

Preparation time : 15 – 20 mins

Freezing time : 3-4 hours

Note:

• If you smear the kulfi moulds with a drop of oil, the candy will slide more easily.
• The mango cubes can be used in any fruit juices OR if you put about 12-16 of these cubes in a glass and allow it to thaw you will get a glass of fresh mango juice.
• I have totally omitted sugar as the mangoes were extremely sweet. 
• You can preserve any fruits (watermelon, musk melon, etc) that are juicy and pulpy in this manner.