Sakkarpara

Sakkarpara are fried spicy wheat crisps that are made out of wheat flour and cream of wheat, or semolina flour. These are like spicy chips or crackers. My mom used to make these, and now does so when we visit home, or she travels to see us.  Being away from my parents, I have decided to try my hand at some of those traditional Guju foods my mom made. I imagine that her recipes had to change once she emigrated to the US, similar to how I have had to adapt many recipes because I cannot find the ingredients, or they are unavailable. I was unable to find cream of wheat or semolina flour, so I used a fine ground couscous.

Above: all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, and fine semolina

Above: Mom's recipe

Sakkarpara are usually served both savory and sweet. They are usually consumed for breakfast or during tea time.  They travel and store well in airtight containers. I prepared my mom’s recipe in two batches, adjusting the couscous and the wheat flour. I have included her original recipe below, with my adjustments in parentheses besides each item.  I found that they used a lot less oil and cooked quickly while being fried at 300 F. They store well, if you can manage not eating all of them in a few days.

Above: cumin seeds, turmeric, red chili powder

The sakkarpara are ready to fry as soon as the dough has been made and rolled out. If you are not going to fry these immediately, store the dough in a small bowl. To make the rolling easier, split the dough ball into two pieces. Have ample all-purpose flour ready to coat your work surface so the dough will not stick. I used almost 1/2 cup in rolling these out. The chips can be dusted with flour to prevent them from sticking (the extra flour will really tax the frying oil, but you can strain the oil through a tea sieve once its cooled off). The addition of cooked couscous allow these to puff up and gives you a soft wet dough.

Above: the sakkarpara dough ready to be rolled out. This one is a bit on the drier side, you want it moister than this. 

Above: dough is rolled and cut up.

Above: ready to make some?

Gujarati Sakkarpara

Yield: 50-60 chips

1 cup wheat flour or mixture of all-purpose and whole-wheat flour

1 cup cream of wheat, or 1/2 cup of dried couscous prepared with 1 cup boiling water. This will yield about 1 and 1/2 cups cooked couscous.

½ tsp turmeric, use ¼ tsp if using fresh turmeric

½ tsp red chili powder

½ tsp whole cumin seeds

½  tsp salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

¼ tsp citric powder (I omitted, because I couldn’t find it)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/2 cup water, or more as needed

½ cup flour, set aside
2 cups peanut oil

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and cream of wheat (or cooked couscous if using) in a large mixing bowl. Next, add in turmeric, red chili powder, salt, cumin seeds, brown sugar and citric acid (if using) and stir well.
2. Stir in vegetable oil and mix well.
3. Add in the water in ¼ cup increments, mixing the dough together. You want to make a soft dough, and the cream of wheat will soak up the water (the cooked couscous will make the dough wetter, so you might need more flour).  If the dough is too dry, add in water 1 tsp at a time until you get it to be the right consistency. Form a ball.
4. Once ready to roll the dough, split the dough into two even balls.
5. Sprinkle a clean work surface with the reserved flour, and push down the dough (dusted in flour) into a 3-4 inch disc. Roll out the dough, rotating the dough every few rolls, so you can get a circle. Flip it over frequently to make sure it is not sticking. Use more flour as needed. If you get another shape, just work with it, it doesn’t matter. Roll out until ⅛ inch thick.
6. With a small paring knife, cut strips along the length of the dough, and then cut strips along the width, so you get squares or diamonds. You can flour these lightly, so they do not stick.
7. Heat up the 2 cups of peanut oil in a wide oil-safe pot over medium-high heat.  The oil is ready when it is between 275 and 300 F.  You may need to turn the heat down to medium once it comes to temperature.  If you don’t have a thermometer, the oil is ready when it bubbles rapidly after placing the sakkarpara chips in the hot oil.
8. When ready, add in 5-7 chips at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes. Be careful not to crowd the pan because it will extend the cooking time. The sakkarpara are done once they are golden-brown. Remove the sakkarpara with a slotted spoon and set on a dish lined with paper towels.

Serve when cool enough to handle, although we would crowd around my mom and eat them as soon as they were warm enough. These are very good and simple to make.


Note: This recipe was tested again with cooked couscous instead of dried couscous and the changes made a much easier dough and sakkarpara. The changes have been reflected in the recipe above.

Potato Paratha

Paratha are a type of Indian flatbread that can either be stuffed with something (potatoes, radish, paneer) or kept at a minimum to reveal the flaky layers within. These are great for soaking up kala channa gravy and maybe rajma, or really anything.

Unstuffed potato paratha (above) with mom's kala channa, yogurt and Indian pickle. This is honest to good home-cooking. Mom you are my cooking hero!

A simple meal could be paratha served with plain yogurt, onions and lime, and some mango pickle or aachar. The first step in making a stuffed paratha is to prepare the stuffing. In this case, boil or microwave the potatoes, and then peel once cooled. You will be smashing the potatoes with cumin, ground ginger, garlic and jalapenos, salt and fresh lemon juice.


Regular unstuffed paratha can be mixed with the paratha ingredients. Stuffed parathas are very special. My favorite is a radish-stuffed paratha from Taj Imports in Richardson, TX, and a close near tie is my mom's potato one.


While the potatoes are cooking you can either prep the ingredients for the stuffing or make the paratha dough. It will need a few minutes to rest before rolling out. The paratha dough will be rolled out into 6 inch circles, filled with about 2-3 T of stuffing, covered with another 6 inch circle, sealed then rolled out into a 10 inch large paratha.


Potato parathas
For the potato stuffing:
2 baking potatoes, cooked and peeled
1/2 cup or more, reserved cooking liquid from the potatoes
1 T ginger, minced fine
1 jalapeno, seeds and veins removed, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1/4 c cilantro, chopped


For the paratha dough:
2 cups chappati or atta flour, or substitute 1 cup whole wheat and 1 cup all purpose flour
2-3 T vegetable oil, such as olive oil
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar (optional)


Directions for the stuffing:

1. Place potatoes in a large bowl and smash slightly.
2. Put the ginger through lemon in the bowl and pour in about 1/2 of the reserved cooking liquid. Continue mixing until creamy. Taste and adjust seasoning. You may need less or more water. Set aside until ready to use.

Ready to mix up (above)

Preparing the dough:

1. Place the flour, salt, sugar and oils in a large mixing bowl. Make sure you set extra flour aside in case you need it and set some water next to you.
2. With your hands mix everything together. Gradually add in water and continue to mix until a soft, slightly tacky dough forms. You can roll out onto the counter and knead slightly. The dough is ready when there is any "raw" looking dough and it doesn't stick to your hands.
3. Let it rest for about 10 minutes, longer is fine too.
4. When ready, set a small dish with flour next to you, and start to roll the dough into about 12 equal balls. Set them aside.
5. To begin rolling, dust the ball in enough flour so that it will not stick to the surface. With a rolling pin roll out to about 6 inches. Set aside. You can roll them all at once, covering each one with wax paper or (that is wasteful isn't it?) just put the rolled pieces on the edge of plate, and make sure they don't touch.

6. You will be using 2 rolled out circles for 1 paratha.

7. Set one circle down, fill with 2-3 T of stuffing, and cover with the 2nd circle. Smoosh the potatoes around, and seal the edges so you can begin to roll the dough out.
8. Continue to roll into a 10-12 inch circle.
9. To cook the paratha, place them on an oiled cast-iron pan or skillet until golden brown on each side.
10. Serve hot, with some ghee or butter drizzled on top.

Naan

Recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone
Naan or Yogurt Flatbread

This was much harder than it seemed. Everything went according to plan except the final product was much more bread-like than naan flatbread like. It still tasted excellent in channa masala with some Indian-style salad. It was a visual treat to make.

Below: After the yeast has been proofed it is mixed in with yogurt, ghee and salt.

Below: Mixing in with flour. Trying to get it smooth, yet slightly tacky.

Below: pre-knead

Below: kneaded and ready for the rise.

Below: dough is patted out and slighly rolled out in a large circle. I attempted to make five or more short knife cuts resembling a sand dollar. I don't think I did very well.

Below: on a baking stone, and rising A LOT.

Below: Brushed with some butter and salt below.