Flour tortillas and vegetable fajitas

One of our favourite things to order at a Mexican restaurant nearby is their vegetable fajita. Fresh grilled vegetables, Spanish rice, refried beans,sour cream, guacamole and salsa are served with soft, freshly made tortillas and can be, based upon the individual's taste, be assembled at the table to make a wrap.
In my home made version, I have skipped the beans, guacamole and rice because I didn't have the ingredients for them on hand, but these fajitas were just as good the way we had them.
Until recently, I thought that all tortillas were made with corn flour. Only while looking for flat breads to make for the Blogging Marathon did I find out that in certain parts of Spain they make flour tortillas using All purpose flour. I have made mine with equal parts of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The authentic tortilla uses lard or shortening, which I have skipped and used a teaspoon of oil instead.

What you need:

 For the tortilla :
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Warm water - as needed

In a large mixing bowl, take the flours and salt. Add water, a little at a time, and knead into a pliable, smooth dough. Mix in the oil and knead. Cover and set aside for an hour.

To make tortillas :
Pinch out golf ball sized balls of dough and roll into a circle. Cook on a hot griddle until the bottom starts to brown. Turn over and cook until the tortilla puffs up a little and the other side also gets brown flecks. Store in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.

For the vegetable mix :
Mixed diced vegetables - 1 cup (I used green bell pepper, yellow and orange sweet peppers, carrot, beans, peas and corn)
Onion - a small one, diced
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Butter or oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Lemon juice (optional)

Heat butter or oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and onion. Saute over high heat until slightly browned. Add in the rest of the vegetables and salt to taste. Stir well over high heat for a minute or two. Transfer to an oven safe dish. Grill at 450 degree Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables look slightly charred and develop a smoky flavor. Squeeze some lemon juice over this if desired and set aside.

For the fajita :
Tortillas
Vegetable mix
Salsa
Sour cream

To assemble the fajita :
 Heap some of the mixed vegetables onto a tortilla. Spread a generous helping of sour cream and salsa over it. Roll up and enjoy!

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Ammini kozhukkattai - savoury steamed rice flour dumplings

Kozhukkattai is a traditional stuffed dumpling that is made during Ganesh Chaturthi. Grated coconut and jaggery, cooked over low heat with a hint of cardamom thrown in, is stuffed into an outer layer of rice flour dough that is shaped by deft hands into a dumpling. This is then steamed, offered to Ganesha whose favourite sweet it is, and then relished by the family.
Ammini kozhukkattai - the bite sized, savoury version - is almost always made on days when the regular sweet kozhukkattai is made. It probably is a dish that was invented when some resourceful woman decided that she would put the left over rice flour dough to good use.
Having grown up in a household where kozhukattais were(and still are) made at the drop of a hat and not just for Ganesh Chathurti, it is little wonder that this bite sized, savoury version is something that I have fond memories of eating.
The only time when dough is made exclusively for ammini kozhukattai, and not as an after thought to the sweeter modak cousins, is during Navaratri when this is made as Neivedyam/prasadam - an offering to the deity.
 
What you need:
Rice flour - 1 cup
Water - 2 cups
Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tsp (preferably coconut oil)
Fresh grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Broken red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs

Mix rice flour with one cup of water to a thick, smooth paste. Heat the remaining cup of water along with salt in a heavy bottomed, large pan. When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat and add the rice flour paste. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture forms a thick ball. Switch off heat. When the dough is warm to the touch, remove it on to a plate, add a teaspoon of coconut oil and knead well. Apply oil on your hands, pinch out small bits of the dough and roll into marble sized balls. Steam these balls in an idli plate/steamer for 8-10 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes after switching off the heat.
In a pan, heat a teaspoon of coconut oil. Add urad dal, chana dal and broken red chillies. When the dals start to brown, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add in the curry leaves and the grated coconut. Saute on low heat till the coconut turns reddish brown. Add the cooked kozhukkattais to this. Mix well and heat for 2-3 minutes.
Enjoy as an evening snack or a light tiffin.

Variations : Omit grated coconut. Knead in some red chilli powder to the dough and then proceed with the recipe.
For the recipe of the sweet version of kozhukattai, click here.
This is my second recipe for Blogging Marathon #29, showcasing Kerala Iyer snacks.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#29
 

Sattu paratha

Sattu is a flour that is commonly used in Bihar. From what I have gathered from the internet and from talking to my friends, it is made from black chana which is slow roasted over a low flame and then powdered. It is used as a filling for parathas, it is mixed with water to make a nutritious, breakfast drink or it is mixed with rice and eaten with a dollop of butter/ghee.
In Bangalore, sattu powder is available at MK Retail outlets and also at the Total Mall in Sarjapur. This is not to be confused with the sathu mavu that is used in South India to make kanji/a health drink.
Sattu paratha is made by stuffing this powder into atta dough, then rolling out and cooking. It is very, very filling and tasty too.

What you need:
For the filling:
Sattu flour - 750 gms
Onions - 5, finely chopped
Ginger - a large piece, julienned
Garlic - 8-10 cloves, chopped
Green chillies - 8-10, minced
Ajwain/omam/carom seeds - 2 tbsp
Salt
Juice of 1 lemon (can be substituted with amchur powder)
Mustard oil - 1/4 cup

Dry roast sattu flour over a low flame until thoroughly warmed(5-8 minutes).
Add in all the other ingredients and mix well.

This tastes great in itself and I am told that this can be mixed with rice and eaten as is.
Knead atta as you would for regular rotis.
Pinch out a large ball of atta. Roll out into a thick, small roti. Place some filling in the middle and seal all the sides to make a ball.
Roll this out into a thick paratha.

Cook on a hot tawa with plenty of ghee on both sides.

Serve with chokha or pickle and raita.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#11