Puffy treat - BATTURA

Having invited a couple of friends home for dinner, I planned on making a good, authentic Indian meal. I was an amateur cook and a newly wed then. This was my first attempt, ever, at cooking for anyone other than my immediate family. I phoned an aunt for a battura recipe and decided to go ahead with my plans.The process required a fermented dough which I kneaded. I decided to make hot batturas only after the arrival of my guests. So, I spent half my day decking up my house and the other half, pouring out energy, into making refreshments and other items on my menu.

My guests arrived and having served them a round of refreshments and store-bought snacks, I headed for the kitchen. I thought it would be an easy process but ended up fighting with the sticky dough and I had flour all over me and my kitchen. I, painstakingly, rolled and fried and fried and fried each of the, so called, batturas...............only to end up with something really wierd. It looked like alien food. And the taste?.......... Don't even bother to ask.

I, frightfully, realised, that I may have to organise a naming ceremony for those oil-soaked monsters........Was there going to be a christening that evening? I cringed at the thought of my guests starving. Those wierd things that I had made were just NOT BATTURAS. Just some kind of thick, hard papad which could easily be of use to a dentist to have a patient's tooth removed. My guests were neither dentists nor did they require a tooth job. My heart sank. Moreover, my evening was sabotaged.

Finally, we made other arrangements and ended up eating take-out food. My friends were only too happy to have saved there teeth and escaped my horrendous food. They joke about it to this day. I vowed never to make batturas in my lifetime ever again.

As time passed, my anger towards batturas faded and my tough declarations not to make them again have been broken. With all the food experimenting going-on, ever since, my batturas turn out excellant now and I don't detest them anymore. This is my tried and tested recipe. It is as easy as making simple puris. Follow the steps below and I am sure you will not have the same experience as I did.

So, they say, chole masala is the perfect-partner for battura . A match made in heaven. Go ahead and make any side which you think is a perfect accompaniment for this puffy treat. Paneer shabnam is also a great gravy for batturas.
INGREDIENTS : (Makes 10-14)

• All purpose flour - 2 cups
• Yoghurt - 6-7 tbspns
• Sugar - 1 tspn
• Salt - to taste
• Oil -2 tbsps(for dough)
• Luke warm water - 1/2 cup
• Active dry yeast - 1/2 tspn( substitute with bakin soda)
• Oil- for deep frying

DIRECTIONS:

• If you are using baking soda, just mix the water, baking soda and all other ingredients together to make a soft dough.
• If using yeast, add yeast to the lukewarm water along with sugar and set aside for about 10 mins.
• After the yeast starts frothing, mix it in with all other ingredients and make a soft dough.
  Put dough in a large bowl and cover the dough with a slightly wet cloth or with a plastic wrap and set aside for 3-4 hours for the dough to rise.
• Now,gently, beat the dough down and divide it into 10-14 equal portions(into the shape of balls).
• Roll out each ball on a floured surface with a rolling pin.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees F(191 C) and deep fry the batturas in hot oil-similar to making puris(be cautious of oil splatters)

NOTE:While frying each battura, only when one side is done you must turn it over onto the next side .(At the most, you can turn sides twice).If you keep turning sides, the battura will soak up alot of oil which is not what we want. Bring the oil to the right heat and cook each side of the battura for about 10 seconds.You might like to check out these recipes too:











Luv 'n' luc'
Smitha