Masale wali Palak Puri/Spicy Puffed Spinach Bread

ndian food is never complete without the wonderful breads which are of vast and varied variety. Some of the ever popular ones are Naan, Paratha, Tandoori roti and of course the fluffy deep fried Puris.

We Indians have a special place in our heart for these cuties. Who doesn't love fried bread- sinful, but worth every little bite :) Weekend breakfasts, indulgent evening snack, lunch, dinner, picnics and lunch boxes, festivals and special occasions from birthdays to weddings, train journeys, famous street foods- all consist of one common thing - Puris.

Here's a confession- I am a puriholic. It has been my favorite bread since I was very little. These days I am not much into deep frying. In fact I try to avoid it at all cost but when it comes to puris I sometimes do go weak in my knees and indulges once every so often. For me, I don't even need a side - just some Indian pickle and I am all set.
This puri recipe here is how traditional puris are made in India but with a little twist. It is the same old puri but packed with the goodness of Spinach. This again is my mom's recipe as many others that you will find on USMasala. Serve with any kind of curry and creamy yogurt  srikhand or halwa or even some homemade pickle for am amazing breakfast or brunch.

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Methi Chhole aur Ajwain Puri/Fenugreek chickpeas curry with fried puffed bread

he past week was good fun. My brother was visiting us for the last few days, hubby took a couple of days off work and then of course the festival of Holi. We had a lot of fun with a lot of hanging out, cooking up a storm, riding around town, eating out on occasion when I did not feel like cooking, playing a game of cards or scrabble... you get the idea. All in all, it was great and as I write this on late Sunday evening (which by-the-way is the worst time of the week for me) with mixed emotions I realized I missed out on updates from the blog world for which I believe I owe an apology to all my dear friends.

This is a dish that I made a few days ago, again in my methi cooking frenzy, which like most other methi dishes was a hit with hubby and believe it or not with my little princess too. It is a protein packed dish and is relatively easy to put together too. If you like chhole, you are gonna love this. It goes great with puris and especially a flavored puri like the ajwain puri that I have posted here. The ajwain flavor is simple and nice and the puris can be had as a snack by themselves too.

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Potato Jackfruit (Aloo Kathal) curry with Poori

It is amazing how we take certain things for granted. Growing up, Kathal (pronounced cut-hull) or Jack fruit used to be abundant during the summers. Mom used to make an amazing curry. So coming to the US, I was pretty disappointed that folks here did not even know what a jack fruit was let alone sell it. We had to go without it for a couple of years. To my absolute amazement, I found that they sold the canned variety in some oriental grocery stores. They were good to satisfy our craving for kathal but did not even come close to the taste of the fresh ones. The other day I decided to search for it on the web and found that there actually is a local farmer that has jack fruit trees and he sells the fruit at his store. The catch, his store was about a hundred miles from where I am. This past weekend, hubby and I decided to take the trip. Believe it or not, we drove a hundred miles (two hundred including the return!!) but it was all worth it as we came back with a huge 10 pound jack fruit :D (so much for my carbon footprint but hey 'am not gonna do this everyday... besides he charged me 20 bucks for it so that's a good deterrent for doing it very often)

Now I have 10 pounds of jack fruit that I want to use as I cannot afford to let it go bad. So get ready to see some kathal creations from me. Here is the first in the series. The most common and traditional kathal preparation in our household. It is a traditional kathal and potato curry with spicy onion gravy. The kathal is pan-fried to get a nice caramelization and then simmered in a nice spicy sauce. I just ate some and feel like having some more as I am writing this. It is best paired with pooris . In case you are not aware what a poori is it is a deep fried puffed unleavened bread. They are an absolute treat to eyes and taste buds alike!!

This is my Mom's recipe, so here goes

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Kasoori methi aloo

I like the flavor of methi leaves or fenugreek very much and try to incorporate them in almost everything I make (daal, rice, roti) when they are in season. They are known for their unique taste and amazing medicinal value. One day I was craving for some aloo methi when the fresh methi were off season. I tried the same with the dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) and some whole baby potatoes and it turned out just as great, a fragrant and flavorful dish with all the taste of fresh methi.

These are great for taking on picnics, for potlucks and taste awesome with pooris. You can always substitute the kasoori methi with fresh or frozen ones (see notes) but do try this once and everyone will be asking for the recipe :)

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