Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Matthi Puri (Matthi translates to 'Sweet' in Kutchi language) Non Deep Fried version

We had totally different agendas!!!!
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Me and Aunt 'R', that is!!
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She was visiting from India. For her without a doubt it was making the rounds of Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Times Square & Atlantic City!
For me, without a doubt it was getting all the recipes from Aunt 'R', she being a fantastic cook :)
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So, while she made lists of places to visit & shop, I made lists of recipes that I needed to get from her ;)
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It did not end just at the recipes, I wanted her to demonstrate the cooking procedure so I could get it absolutely right :)
Keeping all my inhibitions aside, I kept pestering her ;)
Being a kind soul that she is, she not only obliged WILLINGLY, but was pleasantly surprised at my enthusiasm to learn new recipes.
Little did she know I had a food blog to cater to ;)


One of the recipes that she demonstrated for me was this amazing Matthi Puri.
If there ever was a food item I was told to choose to eat everyday, it would be this. It is so very rustic, so very tasty :)

It definitely does not fall in the easy to make categories and I was glad to learn it and then replicate it a few time there after :)
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Matthi Puri is a sweet made out of Whole Wheat flour and Jaggery, just two ingredients!
This is usually made as a 'thando' for 'satam', a traditional festival where the gas/stove is not switched on for a day, it is given rest after the pooja and all the items made the previous day are savored. All the items for 'satam' are extremely delicious and everyone ends up eating more than their normal quota :) But you can most definitely make these anytime ;)
There is a similar punjabi delicacy called the sweet bhatura which uses similar ingredients, just that it is deep fried. Will give that recipe when I make it next time.
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Here is the recipe for Matthi Puri
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Soak a cup of grated/finely chopped jaggery in water.

Now comes the deciding factor. If you like things very sweet, just soak it in a little more than a cup of water. If you are like me and enjoy medium sweet, soak it in about 1.5/2 cups water.
This needs to soak couple of hours till all the jaggery melts to create a sweet solution. Break up jaggery lumps if any with your hands.

Now knead a dough with the jaggery solution and whole wheat flour (regular chapati aata).
The quantity of flour to be used is to get a very smooth and sticky dough.
Add 1tbsp oil and knead again.
IMP: Do not knead the dough to make it stiff, it has to be very loose.
Rest the dough for a minimum of 3 hrs.

When ready to make the Matthi Puri, dust your rolling surface, rolling pin with flour.
Make round-balls out of the dough, you might need a lot of flour for this as the dough is loose.
Roll into a thick puri sized circle. Keep dusting the board with flour and dredging the dough-balls in flour to make it pliable, soon you will get a hang of it. It is important to keep it thick so it does not dry out and get hard.

In my 12" skillet I make three matthi puri at a time.
Keep the flame on medium low. Once the underside gets cooked, flip the puri and continue cooking. Spread some oil on top and flip again. Press the puri well once in a while so that it gets cooked thoroughly. When it is fully cooked you will see a beautiful appetizing reddish brown color as in the pic :) It has to be slow cooked.

These Matthi Puri stay good for a long time(theoretically) and also make for an ideal travelling goodies!! In practice, they will be devoured the day they are made :)
Do try these once, you are sure to like them.
The dough making is a bit involved process, so try with a small quantity to start with.
Enjoy.......
This is my contribution to Hima's What's Your Favorite Snack Event!

64 comments:

FH said...

Richa, these Puris look delicious, like thick pancakes but don't need any syrup.Thanks for posting a traditional recipe, and thank your aunt R too from me!:))
You speak Kutchi too! Woman, what are you?!:D

Richa said...

thanks asha!
LOL.... yup i speak a bit of kutchi too ;) i'm....he!he!
glad u liked the matthi puri, do try it, it's absolutely amazing, even if i say so myself ;)

Shammi said...

Wow, Richa. They sound lovely!

musical said...

Hey Richa,

Aren't these like the gune pakode Punjus make! Flour and jaggery! Yummy during winters!

hugs to you, sweetue, for this!
musical.

Padma said...

Wow Richa they so much resemble like pancakes, sweet puris, nice Kutchi recipe dear, tx for sharing..yeah also thank your Aunt R from me too!

TheCooker said...

Lets test how well these fab puris really travel....will send you my addr :)

bee said...

i guess these can be given the bake and broil treatment. lovely dish.

Richa said...

thanks shyam! do give them a try!

thanks musical!
glad u liked them. will post the punju meethey bhature recipe when i make them next (wink! wink!)

thanks padma!
they hv become my fav & i made them a couple of times after i learnt them :)

thanks tc!
as i said, in theory they do travel, but in practice they travel from the tava to the mouth..... LOL pan ekdum jabri ahet, gul ani peeth combo takes it to another level :)

thanks bee!
i think it may not survive the bake n broil, they may get too dry!
but if u do try lemme' know the outcome ;)

Pooja V said...

They are so like pancakes. I love bhatura too but deep fried food is a NO-NO ( trying to shed a few pounds).

Laavanya said...

Sweet puris that are not-fried, i'm bought! They look lovely and I'm sure the complexity of the dough is something I'm willing to brave for a taste of these.

Bong Mom said...

No deep frying and yet sweet puris...that is innovation. No oil on the skillet too ? So fry it like a paratha ?

evolvingtastes said...

Richa, traditional recipes have so much more underlying to them, no? Must have been great to learn these from your aunt. These puris remind me of dashmi/dashmya (which is slightly less thick and larger) that are made in Maharashtra - I believe there is a sweet version and a savory version of those, but I have eaten only the sweet one.

Finla said...

I was surpriesed to read ther was only wheat flour and jaggery in it.
Never had this Matthi puri.
From the pictures it looks really yummy.
So what all new goddies we can except from you Aunt R.
I think it is wonderful that one can learn something from a expert hand.And it think nobody can cook better than mothers and autnies

sra said...

Richa, they look and sound lovely!

Richa said...

thanks pooja!
in that case u shud definitely try these, no deep frying :) the pancake i guess has a batter, whereas this is made of dough, but similar lines .....

thanks laavanya!
yup once u get the dough right, it is a straight forward method, do lemme' know if u try it :)

thanks sandeepa!
isn't it amazing, i too was jumping with joy!
as i mentioned, put a little oil on top of the matthi puri while cooking so it does not dry out & cooks thru n thru.

thanks happycook!
yes, it was a pleasure learning these. aunt R made these late at night after all the touristy stuff, evil me did not let her rest :) u r absolutely right @ learning from our elders!

thanks sra!

Richa said...

et! et! et! reading ur comment was an aHA! moment for me! i thot @ dashmi while posting this but forgot to mention it. i also knew that u would talk @ it, how is it that we know a person so well without knowing them :)
i guess it is made for 'bail pola' right? mazhi maitrin, actually maitrinichi aai used to make it & send me a dabba full of it. she used to make the ones with sugar, thick n big, lovely memories of those....
do u make it?
but thanks for reminding me about it again, loved it....

Manjula said...

Nice to learn new things everyday! Just read a whole lot about Kutchi on Wikipedia, now.
Love this blogging world. Matthi Puri sounds great!

Shivapriya said...

I have heard about these puri;s from my friend but never taste. They look delicious.

marriedtoadesi.com said...

I know exactly what you mean about wanting them to demonstrate, its one thing to get the recipe but you learn so much more watching them!!

Kanchana

Sharmi said...

they sure look delicious and beautiful. so learning lot of new recipes from your Aunt huh?

Sia said...

i can close my eyes and eat this as i am sure it has no drop of oil and it uses jaggery:D thanks to ur aunt and to u sweetie for sharing such a wonderful recipe. u have tempted me enough with ur description to give it a go

Manasi said...

Wow! love these sweet puris! and so simple! I mean no long list of ingredients!!

Saju said...

yummy Richa! My ma makes these, but deep fries them, they are so more-ish.
BTW I am Kutchi, but my Kutchi is mixed with Gujerati, English and Swahilli (having lived in Uganda).

Rajitha said...

richa..they look sooo good..u r right, these will be eaten the day they are prepared..yummy!

Bhawna said...

I love matthis & aachar, I am sure matthi puri comes from the same family A must try then...

Tee said...

so sweet of your aunt! I love this recipe...gul ani kanik, splendid! Actually, we make these sweet puris but they are deep fried, and called 'godachi puri'. This sure looks like a healthier option (the term healthy being relative) :))

Sig said...

Wow, lucky you... Looks like Aunt R has imparted some cuilinary wisdom to her niece... :)... thanks for sharing Richa... looks yummy.... BTW Matthi is the name of a popular fish in Malayalam, so I got the shock of my life seeing Matthi Puri in your blog ;)

Shweta said...

What a lovely recipe Richa :) A delicacy that doesn't need deep frying! This has to be on my must-try list. Btw, I keep visiting your blog and never left a note :)... I have to compliment you on all the great posts!

Richa said...

thanks manjula! yup, one does learn everyday....

thanks shivpriya! guess time to make it urself :)

thanks kanchana.
u r right, seeing it is another thing altogether :)

thanks sharmi.
yup learnt a couple of dishes ;)

thanks sia!
sure sweetie, do try it sometime, u will enjoy it :)

thanks manasi!
yes it is a very short list indeed :)

thanks saju!
yes there is a deep fried version as well :) hmmm mix of so many cultures, must be fun ....

thanks rajitha!
yup that's what happens in my house....LOL

thanks bhawna! do try & lemme' know.

thanks tee! yup gul ani kanik jabri combo ahey :) yes it is very much a relative term ;) it's always good to adjust as per one's liking, i say ;)

thanks sig!
matthi, a fish in my blog......LOL
this is VERY MUCH veg.
yup poor aunt R was not allowed to rest by her evil neice....:)

thanks shweta!
i'm so glad u decided to leave a comment, it's good to know about the visitors here. thanks for ur sweet words for my blog. enjoy...

Mansi said...

my in-laws are visiting right now, and they r kuttchis...just finished paryushan, so now i'm on a cooking spree:)

indosungod said...

Lovely puris Richa, poor aunties they don't know our agendas do they :) Hope you showed aunty Statue of Liberty and other places she wanted to see.

Cynthia said...

I love aunts!

Pravs said...

I will have the same agenda too if i have a aunt who is a great cooking :D This looks like a delicious matti puri.Though i have not tasted one..will like to try making one.

Roopa said...

wow this sure to go into my try list :) looks delicious no frying is the biggest plus love the puris thanks for sharing the authentic dish!

Suganya said...

Now I know why you are hooked. Beautiful dish!

Rachna said...

Hey Richa, very nice recipe... reminded me of our punju gud da prantha, but these look yummmm.... chethi chethi... chai da cup lao....

swapna susarla said...

Hi Richa
those pooris looks fantastic!!what a lovely aunt u got!!

Latha Narasimhan said...

What a great recipe! The pictures are so tempting! This is a must make dish for me!:))

Kribha said...

Richa, I'm glad you kepr persisting your aunt R. Otherwise, bloggers like me would not get such traditional recipes. Thanks to both of you.

Anonymous said...

No deep frying?? thats really nice. I love the look of these. I will have to try these...they look very very good

Anonymous said...

Puris are looking great and I am sure they taste great too. Got to give it a try.

evolvingtastes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
evolvingtastes said...

Awww Richa, I am flattered by your response. I don't know much about dashmis myself, incidentally I ate it when a relative visiting from India taught me how to make it. Now you make me want to find out more details.

TBC said...

I've never heard of these before but they look very good & I bet they taste great too.:-)

Jyothi said...

Hi Richa! lovely puris. Great color too. Thanks for sharing.

Namratha said...

This is something I'm looking at and hearing about for the first time..its sweet right so its definitely on my list..looks yummy Richa!:)

Lissie said...

hi richa, a nice traditional recipe! it would be good as an evening snack, i guess...

sunita said...

The matthi puri looks divine :)...we make something with ground rice and jaggery syrup (same procedure as your's)

Shweta said...

Hi Richa! I have added a link to your blog from mine. Hope that is okay :)

SeeC said...

Thanks for this lovely recipe.
Resembles pancakes.

Swaruchy said...

Richa....The pooris look awesome dear :-)

Richa said...

thanks shweta! sure, it is fine!

Prema Sundar said...

looks like pancakes ....nice to know it is not deep fried.. thanks for the recipe dear.

Priyanka said...

Richa, thats quite some snack.....never had matthi puri before...must have required quite some effort and time on your part and Aunt R's. will have to try it out during my vacation time:)

Dee said...

I love gujrati food bcos it normally stays a long time.. its made mostly for travel. love the non fried version richa!

Chef Jeena said...

Yummy yum wonderful. :)

Linda said...

Hi Richa, I hope your Aunty R left you lots more recipes to share. This looks so delish! Thanks to you both :)

Kajal said...

Shu vaat che aa to original gujju sweet puri recipe chhe. Mane tu thodi moklav ne tari crispy puri my dear. Hard work for brown red color for this puri with less oil.:))

Viji said...

Richa, they are lovely. Viji

Seena said...

Very nice,this is first time am seeing a Matthi puri recipe and picture..

J said...

Looks great!

Sandhya said...

Hi Richa,

Lovely pictures of the puris, I also make them. We also add "saunf" (aniseeds) and that gives a really ncie aroma and taste.

Sandhya

Mansi said...

Sahi chhe richa, reminded me of matthris...man, its so much fun when youa re kids and u just order and your mom makes things for you:)

juna divso yaad aavi gaya!!

Kalpana said...

Richa,matthe maadu ji matthi puri mast aay !!