Nani had a huge herb and vegetable garden at the back of the house
The garden always had one particular herb every winter – soy/dill
The shrub always grew taller than me, an eight-year-old back then, making me disappear in the dill patch while trying to catch ladybirds
The ladybirds too loved the perfumed dill as much as I did
Nani loved getting baisani (gram/chickpea floured) roti made at the tandoor (cylindrical clay oven) situated close by
She would supervise and instruct our cook, named Rasheed aka Sheeda, as to how to make the dough
It always had plenty of fresh dill from her garden
Once the dough was prepared, Sheeda would take it to the nearest wood-fired tandoor and get the baisani roti made
The tandoor guy always knew how Begum Sahiba (my Nani) liked the rotis
We loved having it with home-churned butter while soaking in the winter sun, followed by a kino (orange) eating marathon
On the death anniversary of my Nani, who now rests at Emanabad, a small city situated 30kilometres from Lahore, I found myself strolling down memory lane, catching ladybirds while buying some dill at a local vegetable shop
I have not known a woman as kind and as beautiful as Anwer Sultana
I do wish she was still alive so we could have the conversations we never had a chance to have! Now they only happen in my head
To relive the memory of having baisani roti with Afghani chutney, I would like to share this recipe with you
Ingredients for baisani roti: Chickpea flour – 1 cup Whole wheat flour – ½ cup Butter – 50 grams (melted) Dill – handful (fresh and chopped) Coriander – handful (fresh and chopped) Red chillies – ½ tsp (crushed) Green chilli – 1 thinly (chopped) Roasted cumin seeds – 1 tsp (lightly crushed) Roasted coriander seeds – 1 tsp (crushed) Water – for kneading This recipe will need a griddle and food processor
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="581"] Photo: Ambreen Malik[/caption] Method for baisani roti: 1
Add everything, except water, in to the food processor and pulse it for 10 seconds
2
Now switch on the machine and slowly add the ¼ cup of water till everything comes together and forms a dough
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Photo: Ambreen Malik[/caption] 3
Take the dough out and knead it for two to three minutes
Put it in a bowl with a tablespoon of oil in it
Cover it and let it sit for 30 minutes
4
Then make small balls of the dough, roll them out and cook them, on both sides, on a hot griddle
5
Now, remove them from the griddle and cut in triangles
You can serve these hot with salsa or chutney
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="400"] Photo: Ambreen Malik[/caption] Ingredients for Afghani chutney: Mint – 1 cup Fresh coriander leaves – 2 cups (chopped) Garlic – 2 cloves Tomato – 1 large (try finding a green one) Fresh green chilies – 4 whole Lemon juice – of 4 to 5 lemons (medium sized) White vinegar – ¼ cup Salt – to taste [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="581"] Photo: Ambreen Malik[/caption] Method for Afghani chutney: Add all the ingredients in a liquidiser and make a smooth paste
In case you feel that more liquid is needed, you can increase the amount of vinegar
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="581"] Photo: Ambreen Malik[/caption] This simple dish can easily replace your Doritos and salsa snack any given afternoon! Enjoy! This post originally appeared here
| Date: | 26-Feb-2015 | Reference: | View Original Link |
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