[Recipe] Padhir Peni

I am not sure when my romance with the Padhir Peni began, but must be a decade ago.. Since it is a Karnataka based dish, I must have had it at a wedding/function held there or in someone's house there or someone who is from that state.. Anyways, that doesnt matter.. This is a dish that I love, it resembles a giant puri of sorts but is quite flaky.. 

In weddings, I remember the staff putting a separate plate near the banana leaf, placing the Pathir peni, another guy sprinkling some powdered sugar on it and then finally a good cupful of hot milk/badam milk is poured on it. You then wait for a few mins for the peni to soak up the milk before digging in. Infact, I remember skipping meals and just having one yummy peni.. 

It has become an unsaid rule in my family that anyone who goes to karnataka or knows someone from there shall bring back few of these for me [well I do share it with all] 

Last week, one evening gramma was glued to the TV watching a cookery show, Revathi Shanmugam when I happened to look up from the laptop and noticed she was making Padhir Peni. I always thought it was a complicated thing to make and did not bother finding out recipes. But when I saw this show, I realised even though it involved a long process, it wasn't complicated or rocket science..

A few days later, thanks to the incessant rains, we decided to give it a shot and must say it came out quite well... Here is how it is made,

For the dough

Maida [you can alternatively use Chiroti Rava]- 1 cup 

Water  - enough to knead the dough

Salt a pinch

For the Paste:

Rice Flour-  2 tsp

Ghee - 2 tsp

Others

Oil for Deep frying 

Powdered sugar 

The Process

In a bowl, mix the ingredients for the dough and make a smooth dough [ almost like what you make for roti] - set this aside , covering with a cloth or cling film

In another bowl mix the rice flour and ghee to make a nice paste [ shouldn't be too thick or too runny]

Now take the dough, make balls - roll them out like rotis - you will need 4 for each batch. Once the 4 have been rolled out, apply the paste between layers.

Once done, roll the entire thing like a swiss roll[ long log] and cut into pieces. 

Press them down flat so you can see the layers and paste from the top. 

Gently roll them out into thick puri like things. 

Take a pan, add oil and let it heat up.. Now deep fry these once by one on gentle flame till they are cooked all through

Sprinkle generous amounts of sugar and eat it as it is or with hot milk.. 

[Shared] Making of Soan Papdi

Every time any of us got back from a trip to Bangalore, there would be expectant look on everyone's face at home. They werent looking for fancy gifts, they were looking for that signature white plastic bag with a box that contained nothing but melt in your mouth Soan papdi from K C Das.. before they discovered K C Das, uncle used to buy soan papdi in lose form from Nilgiris.. And before that they used to get it form the street hawker who had a distant bell sound, i still find him on our street these days.. Has a big glass dome under which is some divine soan papdi..

And the amazing thing is that after a day or after being open for a few hours, it becomes chewy and then in a couple of days it becomes dry and weird... :D

But, the very first time I saw how they made this sweet was on a  TV Show years ago.. Left me baffled.. Why on earth would someone go to such extents and who on earth discovered this sweet/process..

Well, today I once again stumbled upon a site showing a video of how this sweet is made.. Once again the same questions came flooding into my head.. lol.. If any of you know the answer, do let me know.. For now, go watch in awe..

How Soan papdi is made

Do you like this flaky soft delicate sweet? where do you buy it from? 

Hoppipola - The Spring Hotel, Chennai

The first thing that hits you is the winding staircase and then you are hit with a burst of white.. the walls are white, the chairs are white, the metal structures are white... the ceiling is white.. :D 

Not something you associate with a pub, but then Hoppipola is quite different.. Underneath the staircase is a beautiful shelf of sorts with books lined all the way through. And then there are the board games, the giant Jenga, mini golf which lure you in hook and thread and everything thrown in.. 

This is a pub with a difference, and quite cute at that! The walls have metal stands with candles on them, little planters with real plants in them and visible pipelines on the ceiling as well. 

Oh and there is an entire wall fitted with the good ol boomboxes, and wait there is more. On certain days women guest are invited to open one cassette slot and who knows you might get lucky and win yourself a drink or two.. Wait, there is more.. The tables double up as blackboards, there are chalk pieces in the little box on the table.. It is one of those places where you can look forward to an evening of fun.. You should just switch off your phone and have some fun!

Wednesdays are Creative Wednesdays where guests get to go behind the bar and create their own drinks.. Similarly, they have different themes for each day of the week.. 

Now getting down to business, I had a Watermelon - Basil Caprioshkas and it was quite good..  They have a simple but decent selection of drinks [yet to get Imported drinks license though].. Apart from this, they also have a range of cocktails.. their Pina colada was divine!  

Now that the drinks were down, we had to order some food right.. Here are some of the dishes we tried that evening,

Cheesienos, which was essentially a crisp fried cheese sticks with Jalepenos

The Burger [non veg] that friends had

Four  ways Pizza [that was served Half & Half- one half was veg-Margarita and Cheesie Pizznezz and other non veg-ambretta and Jerkin Around. ]

Moving on to Desserts we had Banana Cinnamon Ice Cream Cake and Molten Chocolate Lava Cake served along with a Vanilla Ice Cream.  

Price: Rs 1500 - 2000 for 2..  including a round of drinks. Please note No Stags allowed.. 

Address: The Spring hotel, Kodambakkam High Road [ near Palmgrove hotel]

Website: http://www.hoppipola.com/reach.html

Disclaimer: The reviews posted on this blog are based on my personal experience. Also remember these were just my views!! Remember, no two palates are the same. Bon Appétit :-)

Mushrooms at home..

Few weeks ago while walking outside mom spotted this Mushroom in the garden. She immediately called me and asked if I saw it.. It was large, white and beautiful. What was surprising was that it stayed that way for a good week before turning brown and becoming shrivelled.. 

I have always had a fascination towards these fungi that grow in the wild. Often wondering why these were considered poisonous. During a trip to Hoysala/Bangalore, i spotted quite a few kinds of mushrooms along our nature trail.. What delight...

I know these are not edible, but one of the ingredients that I love eating/cooking with are Mushrooms.