Easy like

Friday mid-morning brunches with friends are something I've come to enjoy a whole lot. We did this two Fridays in a row and methinks it can become a regular ritual.

The big idea of course is to have something hearty that can stave off hunger pangs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. With friends to help you cook-in, it doesn't seem like much of a chore either. We had puris both Fridays - with dry aloos/raitha and mishti dohi (mildly sweetened and baked yoghurt) the first time and "bhutte ki kachori" (corn stuffed puris) the second.

Those fragrant golden yellow kachoris are something that my mom makes to perfection - takes a bit of work but for those of you who are interested, here goes:

What you need:

For the filling

1. 1 tin whole kernel corn or fresh corn from 4 cobs
2. Whole garam masala (One stick cinnamon, 4 cloves and 2 green cardamoms)
3. 1 inch piece ginger and 5 cloves of garlic
4. Green chillies and salt to taste
5. 2 tsps of aniseeds and 1 tsp of jeera for tempering

Grind these without water to a coarse paste. Heat oil in a pan, splutter the jeera and anise till fragrant. Add the paste and stir fry for about 10 minutes till the mixture is almost dry and the oil separates.

For the dough:

1. Whole wheat flour (atta) and semolina (rava) in a 3:1 proportion
2. 2 tbsps of melted ghee
3. Salt to taste
4. Water for kneading
5. Oil to deep fry

Sift the flours together with salt and rub in the melted ghee for a biscuit crumble like consistency. Add water to make a smooth and slightly hard - regular puri dough.

To make these golden treats:

1. Make small balls of the dough.
2. Roll out each to the size of a regular puri and place some of the filling in the centre.
3. Seal the dough on all sides and roll out again gently
4. Deep fry.

These are best served with green chutney (mint, corriander leaves, green chillies, salt, sugar and jeera ground together) and a spicy potato with thin gravy (splutter onion seeds (kalonji), garlic and green chillies slit length wise in some hot oil, add chopped onions with turmeric and salt and cook in water till done).

These here kachoris make like they're straight from kitchen heaven! - hope this works for you guys as well. Happy cooking.