I haven't read this yet, but the book Menus and Memories from Punjab: Meals to Nourish Body and Soul by Veronica (Rani) Sidhu is the first Punjabi cookbook that I've come across made for a western audience. Here's a recipe from the book:
Potato Patties (from the "Vegetarian Heaven" menu)
Aloo Tikee
Yield: 16 3-inch patties
8 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
½ medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely sliced cilantro
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
1 rounded teaspoon whole or ground cumin seeds
½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 teaspoons ground dried pomegranate seeds, or 1 more teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon garam masala (optional)
½ cup frozen green peas, thawed, cooked slightly, and well-drained
1 cup Bisquick ™ or all-purpose flour
½ cup unsweetened dried coconut (optional)**
In a large pot, boil the potatoes in their skins in water to cover until barely tender. Do not overcook. Cool, peel and mash. Add the onion, ginger, salt, lemon juice, and cilantro.
Lightly toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry pan. Grind in a clean coffee or spice grinder. Add to the potatoes along with the rest of the spices. Mix lightly but thoroughly, preferably with your hands, so as not to crush the ingredients.
Add the peas, mixing them in uniformly with your hands.
Preheat a non-stick griddle to 400°F or a pan until very hot. Take a ball of potato mixture, flatten it in a dish of about ½ cup of Bisquick(R) or flour coating it on both sides and making a 3-inch disk about ¾-inch thick. Make as many patties as will fit on the griddle without crowding.
Spray or oil the griddle or pan. Fry the patties for 3 minutes or until brown and crisp on the bottom. Just before turning, spray the patties with cooking spray. Turn and fry for 2 more minutes until uniformly brown. Re-spray the griddle with each new batch. Serve patties hot with chutney or ketchup.
**The water content of potatoes varies. If your first patty does not hold together, mix the dried, grated coconut into the remainder of the potatoes and allow to rest for 15 minutes before making the rest of the patties.
If anyone tries out the recipe, let me know how it turns out.
Posts
4 comments:
Here's a great comment I got back from the author of the book, Veronica Sidhu:
Waheguruji ka khalsa! Waheguruji ki fateh!
It is heartwarming to see the community rally behind this Punjabi cookbook. I wrote it as a form of therapy after the death of our grandson and to memorialize the recipes taught to me by my mother-in-law and "aunties" over the thirty years we were together in kitchens in India and the US. In those years I had not written down
any recipes and realized that when I am gone, my children and grandchildren will not have the opportunity to prepare the meals that we made together. Everyone is so busy that they do not have the time to cook at my side. And that all the proceeds will be donated to a project to imporve the village makes your support even more important
and worthwhile.
Thanks!! Dhan Guru Nanak!
I have attended a few of Veronica's cooking classes with a number of my colleagues. One of our favorite "starters" has been the scrumptious Aloo Tikee. The mere fact that it is not fried suggests that you can have more than one, two or in my case even four without the guilt! Her added touch of coconut and pomegranate seeds makes these Tikees very unique and tasty. The cilantro makes them light and refreshing.
Post a Comment