Sometimes I wonder to myself, why does indian snacks particularly take up so much time to make??? By the time you end up making it you tend to find yourself really exhausted and really hungry, that you literally gobble down the meal and don't actually take the time to enjoy it. Indian cuisine without a doubt has one of the most exciting starters or appetizers that can so easily be turned into main meals and even though most of them are vegetarian they are extremely satisfying.
Take Bhel Puri for example, it is such a common meal in india and many african countries, but yet in the first world countries it is not as commonly found. Why is that??? Simply, because it is time consuming to make and different chutneys are required. So, ofcourse here in the creativelycooked kitchen I decided to shake things up abit and make bhel puri, that gives you the same great taste you would get in a restaurant, but in your very own home and in half the time. Another secret weapon: Why waste time making three chutneys when all you need is one really good one. It really does taste like all three combined into one. I am going to share this fantastic secret with you, try it out, let me know what you think. I think it sure is a killer chutney that can be used with anything even western Cuisines.
Ingredients for the bhel puri (Serves 4 as a starter)
Sev (I bought the premade sev from an indian grocer, absolutely nothing wrong with doing this, I buy a big packet and store the rest to use another time)
1 Packet of Frozen Spring Roll pastry (cut the pastry in half to fry as this makes it easier to cook, to serve four I fried about 8 sheets of pastry)
2 Fresh Corn on the cob (corn sliced off the cob, you can use frozen if you cannot get hold of fresh corn)
1/2 Green pepper, finely chopped
1 Brown onion, finely chopped
2 Boiled potato's roughly chopped
1/2 Tsp Crushed Garlic
1/2 Tsp Crushed Green or red chilli
Salt to taste
1 Tsp Red chilli powder (if you are using kashmiri chilli powder, please becareful how much you add as it is very spicy)
Method for the Bhel Puri
On a medium heat place a saucepan with 1 TBLS olive oil. Add the onions, peppers, garlic and chilli and cook until the onions are translucent. Add the chopped potato and corn, you really want to slightly cook this until your corn appears bright yellow in colour. Add your salt and chilli powder and remove from the heat and let this cool.
If you have a fryer to fry the spring roll pastry please use that, otherwise place a pot with oil on a medium heat to deep fry the spring roll pastry and drain the pastry on paper towel once fried. Keep aside until you are ready to serve.
For the Chutney
You will need 1 bottle of a spicy tikka masala sauce (Steers spicy tikka masala, available at South African stores), if you cannot get a spicy tikka masala sauce all you need to do is add archaar masala (slightly braised in oil on the stovetop) to tomato sauce. You will need 1 bottle of chutney Mrs Balls Originial Chutney (Also available at South African stores) is great. If you cannot get the Chutney use any sweet chilli or a chutney relish that is sweet/sour. You need 2 TBLS white vinegar, 1 TBLS sugar, 1 handful of coriander, 1 stem of curry leaves and 2 tomato's. Soak the toamato's in boiling water until the skin has softened and you can peel this off. Take the coriander, blanched tomato's and curry leaves and place into a bowl and blend until a uniform mixture is formed, the coriander and curry leaves should be completely fine. Add the other ingredients to this mix. Taste the sauce and see if there is anything else that is needed. That's it!!!!! Chutney done... Below is an image of what it should look like once you are done. When you taste your chutney you should have a balance of sweet, sour and spicy. You should also be able to taste the coriander and curry leaves.
To assemble, place the corn mix in the centre of the bowl. Crush the fried springroll pastry into smaller bite size pieces and place on top of the corn mix. Add the sev and garnish with chopped coriander. Now the best part..... Top with the freshly made chutney as much as you like. Bite into it and savour every bite... Enjoy :)
You probably will have a lot of chutney left over, don't throw this away save it in a sterile jar and the next time you make a burger why not use your very own chutney.
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