The beauty of Indian food lies in its diversity. While the world sees it only its' curry glory, its actually an amalgamation of so many wide variety, that will take a lifetime to master. Every state, every district having something different to offer in ingredients, taste and palette. Each being as different as chalk and cheese, or Salman Khan and Rahul Bose or in our language Chinese and French food. But the sad part is the lack of in-depth knowledge of our own regional food. Only the top of the list has entered the homes of most kitchens in India. So chola-bhatura, dal makhni from Punjab, idli-sambhar, dosa from south India, vada-pav from Mahrasthra and dhokla from Gujrat are now in our recipe list, yet there's much more. Thanks to blogger friends, we are discovering more.
By origin I'm from Bihar, but brought up in Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and married in Agra, which has close proximity to Rajasthan and lived more than a decade in Delhi. So North Indian cusine is what I have been exposed to greatly. One thing I noticed was the overlapping of flavours and dishes amongst these states. This snack that I'm sharing - Mangode is one such dish, that belongs both to Rajsthan and UP. It's basically a pakode (fritter) made of green gram batter mixed with onion and potatoes. The best part of this dish is the crispness and crunch that the lentil lends, which is very different from the regular fritter. A perfect tea time snack. In fact it's such a favourite of my father-in-law that it becomes a stand alone brunch also. Amongst many other uniqueness that India has to offer, lies its wide variety of cuisine. So while Indian food might have become unanimous with curries, yet its beauty lies in its diversity.
Before moving to the recipe, let me quickly remind you that the event Drive me Nuts, closes on 10th June. So if you haven't send your entries, do send it now.
Mangode Recipe:
Before moving to the recipe, let me quickly remind you that the event Drive me Nuts, closes on 10th June. So if you haven't send your entries, do send it now.
Mangode Recipe:
Ingredients:
Moong Dal with skin - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large - finely chopped
Potatoes -2 medium - finely chopped
Gramflour (Besan) - 2-3 tbsp
Green Chillies - 2-3 - chopped
Coriander - 1/4 cup - chopped
Coriander powder - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Chaat Masala - 1 tsp
Cumin (Jeera) Powder - 1 tsp
Salt - As per taste
Oil - For deep frying
Method:
- Soak moong dal for 3-4 hours. Then grind with very little water, slightly coarsely. Ensure not grinding it very fine, else mangode will not be very crispy
- Heat oil in a kadahi or deep pan
- Wash chopped potatoes well under running water and warp it in kitchen towel, to remove excess moisture
- Place dal batter in large mixing bowl. And add chopped onion, potatoes, green chillies, coriander, spices and gramflour. mIx it all well
- Now add water little by little to this batter to get medium thick consistency, dropping not pouring consistency
- Check the temperature of oil by dropping a drop of batter. If it comes to the surface immediately, the oil is ready.
- Drop spoonful of batter in hot oil. Wait for 2 mins till it stifens, then flip it on the other side
- Let both sides turn golden-red, before taking out your fritters. Place them on tissues to drain excess oil
- Serve hot with chutney and hot tea
Sending it as my entry to Flavours of Rajasthan, started by Nayna; and to My legume love affair-36, initially started by Thewellseasonedcook.
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