Buckwheat Poori (Fried Indian Bread)
Kotu Poori
Reeta Kumar
On fasting days, Hindu tradition does not allow taking any cereals, lentils and ordinary salt. Therefore, traditional fasting food, known as 'vrat ka khana', has to find alternative ways of making staple food like poori and parathas. Kotu is one such non-cereal or pseudo-cereal flour and it is used to make parathas, poories and pakoras for an end of fast meal in India.
Serves 5-6
Pictures 5 to 9 are from a different type of Poories. They are here just to show the method. I forgot to take pictures here!
Ingredients
2 cups kotoo atta, Buckwheat flour
1 large potato, boiled and mashed*
Salt to taste
1 tsp. ajwain or carom seeds
Oil for deep frying
Instructions
Boil, peel and mash potato.
Place flour, mashed potato, salt and carom seeds in a bowl.
Add enough water and knead to a firm dough.
Divide the dough into small portions, to make balls slightly larger than a golf ball.
Roll out each ball into 5-6 inch diameter disc, using a rolling pin.
Heat oil in a wok or karahi.
Slip one poori at a time from the side, taking care not to splash hot oil. When it floats to the surface, gently turn it over. Continue to press it very gently, to coax it into ballooning. It does not require turning too often. When fried on both sides, take it out onto a kitchen paper or old newspaper, to absorb oil.
Serve hot with Rasedar Aloo, Potato Curry.
Notes
*Colocacia or arvi can also be used in place of potato. Kotu is difficult to roll out. Potato/colocacia help to bind the dough.
When making dough, add water very slowly as this flour does not ‘bind, in the same way as wheat flour.
