Jowar no rotlo and Potato thai style

Are there any rules to cooking? I say NO! But there are others who believe so. I cook with my instincts a lot of times and enjoy combinations from different cuisines…….not necessarily with rules. Rules do come in when necessary like, while tempering mustard goes in before cumin, put water in flour and not the other way round, soak the starchy vegetables in water till you are about to throw them in the skillet and such. As commonsense would say its best to combine the main course meals from the same cuisine like fried rice - manchurian, oro (baingan bharta) and rotlo, dal - chawal, and the likes, but I say go with your instincts. There are no rules to eating as well. Wink Have you tried Naan with Gobi Manchurian? It’s out of the world!!

But when you suggest combinations like these, you will see people cringe their face.

And some may even do that after reading this post…………. Sarcastic Tongue out

I had couple of batches of frozen thai red paste after seeing this. The recipe is mostly from there, with some changes like omiting the beancurd and using an alternate ingredient. I have listed it down for ease of reference.

6-8 large red dried chillies (I used kashmiri chillies)
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
2 tsps whole cumin seeds
1/2 onion chopped
a small bunch of corriander chopped
2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass (fleshy midsection)
2 Thai chillies chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon chopped galangal
1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

Make the paste, store in small batches and it comes in really handy when you are running for time!

And now for this one weekend lunch I thought of combining this red paste with potatoes and make a decent gravy to go with Jowar no rotlo. Now is this a wierd combination? Not for me atleast! We devoured it and literally.

For Potato thai style all you need is:

2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 big tomato chopped

1-2 tsp thai red paste (adjust as per your taste)

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin

sugar and salt to taste

In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop add cumin.

Once the cumin is brown, add the red paste and let it cook in the oil for about 2-3 mins till you start getting the smell.

Now add in the tomatoes and cook for another 4-5 mins till they become slightly mushy stiring continously.

Now add the potatoes, 1 cup of water, salt to taste and let it cook for two whistles.

Once the pressure releases, add 1 tsp sugar (optional) taste for any adjustments needed.

Jowar no rotlo:

2 cups of jowar flour

salt to taste

warm water to make the dough

Take the flour and add salt to taste. Bind the dough in luke warm water. The dough should be soft and not powdery. Jowar seems to have little binding power and hence it may take a bit of experience to reach the right consistency. Let the dough sit for a while to get softer rotla’s .

You can spread the dough on a rolling surface with hands taking help of some dry flour, but you will need some expertize in transferring it to the tava. A better way to do it is on aluminum foil.

Spread the aluminum foil on a flat surface and add a drop or two of oil in the centre. Spread it with your hands. Now keep a small portion of dough on it and start pressing with your hands, turning the aluminum foil around to maintain eveness till you get something like this:

Now lift the aluminum foil and invert it on a hot tava (use iron tava preferably), gently peeling the aluminum foil from the dough. This step will come out neatly if you haven’t been stingy in applying oil on the foil before you began spreading the dough on it. So apply about 2 drops of oil for every turn. Once on the tava, cover and let it cook for two mins. Invert, cover and let it cook again till brown spots are seen on both the sides. Cook again on the other side if need be.

Apply some ghee (now don’t you chicken out over here! Some rules are to be followed Tongue out )

I thoroughly enjoyed my weekend meal with rotlo and thai style potato. For a more rustic taste enjoy it with plain chopped onions and then the only this missing is a village set-up with some khatiya (a cot woven with jute)

This goes to Meeta for her Monthly Mingle - Comfort Foods.

Potato Thai Style also goes to the two potato fanatics, Sia at Monsoon Spice for “Ode to Potato” and Dhivya at Cullinary Bazaar for “A Potato Fe(a)st”

February 5, 2008 | Filed Under Jowar, Potato

Comments

33 Responses to “Jowar no rotlo and Potato thai style”

bee on February 5th, 2008

beautiful. i prefer potato to tofu.
Pooja V on February 5th, 2008

Wow coffee this looks amazin. And i completely agree that nann ( i tried roti) with Manchurian tastes great!
Suganya on February 5th, 2008

Thai pastes are quite versatile. I even add a spoonful to eggs for making a spicy omelet.
Shankari on February 5th, 2008

Wow the jowr roti looks so good. I am planning to add jowar to my diet and this is an excellent way to start. Thank U
Lakshmi on February 5th, 2008

beautiful pics. I love jowar roti and the combination of different cuisines..wonderful.
Nags on February 5th, 2008

Nice pictorials
richa on February 5th, 2008

jowar no rotlo saras lagey che aney bateta shaak no close up bau tempting che
Srivalli on February 5th, 2008

great looking plate!…hopefully you are back to regular blogging now?
sia on February 5th, 2008

i do… i do… i love gobi manchurian with naan :twisted:
and potato and peas with thai red curry is what i made on weekend. coffee, we do share some stuff, well great minds huh??? he he he…
thanks for this delicious entry. will look fwd to ur mail :razz:
Meeta on February 5th, 2008

This looks really scrumptious. Thanks for joining the MM.
Siri on February 5th, 2008

Mounthwatery combo Coffee

Siri :razz:
Asha on February 5th, 2008

I made Rotlo too, coming up on Thursday!! Looks great, Aloo makes my mouth water!:))
bhags on February 6th, 2008

this seems to have come after a long time….. nice looking jowar roti and delicious potato thai curry
Manasi on February 6th, 2008

NICE combo! and I agree with u… mix n match and eat!!
Pooja on February 6th, 2008

Coffee,
Nice to see you back on blogging .
I also have my own rules for cooking , its better as far as hubby and others who know me says i am a good cook .
I love rotla too. A comfort food for winter days.
thanks for sharing , nice entry for potato events :)).
Stay tuned buddy…
evolvingtastes on February 6th, 2008

I totally envy anyone who can make rotlo (what we call bhakri) like this! Thai curry paste is sooooo versatile, I can just imagine how good this must’ve been.
Shweta on February 6th, 2008

Lovely rotlo, I don’t know if I can ever master rotla! That shaak must’ve tasted divine… Last night I made rasa wala bataka nu shaak with Italian seasoning (was trying to use up some, actually a lot of leftover bruschetta toppings) and it turned out SO good! Who says fusion does’nt work!!! I am going to try the Thai version soon
alpa on February 6th, 2008

your pic is gonna make me cry - i wanna go back to india now! the variety of the different grains available just amazes me.
Dhivya on February 6th, 2008

Oh this is nice to know that there are few others apart from me who like Naan with manchurian! I have made that combo so many times that my family does not think it weird at all! hehehe an absolute winner, i would say

Thanks for the entry Coffee - will wait for your mail
Kaykat on February 6th, 2008

Delicious! I love the texture of jowar. I’ll bet it tastes great with that spicy potato curry
sra on February 6th, 2008

My brother once ate hard-boiled candy with curd rice.

Coffee, I was in Singapore for a few hours’ stopover recently - wish I could have arranged to call you from the airport, but I left in a bit of a rush.
Uma on February 7th, 2008

Good post. Nice pics. Looks delicious.
Mansi on February 7th, 2008

jowar no rotlo?? omg Coffee, it’s been ages since I had that!! looks tempting girl!

btw, welcome back!
musical on February 7th, 2008

Yum! jowar no rotlo looks really tempting, Coffee! And fabulous aloo-recipe i agree, no rules in cooking as long as it tastes good. i recently tried an aloo-sabzi with left-over marinara sauce and it was delish. i will totally try this aloo recipe soon!
Mona on February 7th, 2008

I love Jowar roti too, but find it quite difficult to roll.. So i prepare it very less. I agree with you, i never follow rules in cooking or combinations of food. Cooking is experimental, i believe, isnt it?!
Happy Cook on February 8th, 2008

It looks really good.
Never made Jowar roti
Cynthia on February 9th, 2008

I am not cringing at all! I say bring it on! :razz: Have I told you lately how pleased I am to see you blogging again?
Mrs Singh on February 9th, 2008

Hi Coffee, Good to see you back. Thai food is also my daughter”s and my favourites. Btw, what is Jowar flour? We do Makhi Di Roti with cornmeal, and that too is a bit difficult to roll out. If atta is not the right consistency, we end up with a hard PAPAD!
Tks for any info, Mrs Singh
TCooker on February 10th, 2008

Thanks! I don’t feel so wierd anymore…like the machurian-naan combo a lot!
The rotlo (rotla?) looks very delicious.
sunita on February 13th, 2008

Coffee, I’m going after reading your post…different combinations bring in a wonderful change..and as long as you enjoy the meal, who needs rules…I don’t
Raaga on February 13th, 2008

This looks beautiful
Aparna on February 18th, 2008

That’s an interesting combination. I also happen to like rotlo very much, learned to make it from a friend. And also agree about the “no rules” bit though some traditional food combinations taste the best.
Marinara Sauces on March 18th, 2008

That looks very tasty. I will have to try that for lunch.