Methi Tikki

It has been a very long time since I have last blogged....there has been a lot going on in our lives....and this has put me off my stride....have been meaning to get back to it for quite a while - but have found that once I am off - it is almost forgotten....weird right...considering how into it I was once...

Anyways after ages, I actually baked something...muffins with figs and cashew nuts....sounds very yum....somehow it did not turn out that good - there was some problem either with the recipe or the method - or with the usual substitutions that I tend to bring to any recipe I read...so whatever ...the end result was not truly professional ( it was ok for me and my family...)...so though we all ate & relished it up - I did not feel like I could write about it - maybe after I tweak it some more...

Then a couple of days later - a bunch of methi leaves which were sitting in my fridge and nagging me to do something...got me started in the thinking, planning, recipe reading etc...mode....
After a lot of thought decided to go ahead with the making of tikkis...had all the necessary ingredients on hand...and it had been a really long time since I had last made it...
Then had to choose between the more healthy option of baking...or the more tasty option of fried...went with the fried for this time...

Somehow during the making of this, I kept remembering my mother-in-law, an amazing cook and an avid foodie herself - even ill health ( towards the later years ) did not keep her from getting involved in the process of any special dish being prepared...
One such memory still lingers, of her removing the leaves of the methi - then after the dough was put in the dish - she supervised the amount of oil to be added and mixed it herself - and saw to the addition of the spices and leaves, left the final kneading and frying to the cook, she was so particular about how it is to be prepared....esp. if it was being prepared for her loved ones...
Though she has told me how she used to do this ...and I have prepared it too earlier as per her recipe - this time around I did not remember all the details - so looked up the net for a few different options ( will check it out later to see how it differs from m-i-l's version )...

Rice Chilla

When I first heard this name I was not sure what it was, how it looked, how was it made....then I realised that it was a modified version of  what we called a tomato omelet - we use to have it in restaurants ( Mom did not prepare it at home when we were kids ) -  do not know why they called it omelet ( it did not have eggs ) - was basically made from besan and served with a couple of triangles of bread.

While the tomato omelet is made of besan & onions, chillies, tomatoes...rice chilla as the name suggests has rice flour in it too...I was introduced to the above variation by my friend.

We were invited to lunch at my friend's place, they stay in the neighbouring state - it was a hour and half drive to their place ( but since it was mainly on the interstate - not really that bad a drive and quite scenic so the time really does tend to fly by)...
 
We always have a great time at my friend's place - she is part of my group of college friends and hence we have known each other a long time...there is something very comforting about meeting up with old friends...and having known her family too for as long....you feel totally at home with them...so we were looking forward to meeting them all again and since G ( my friend ) and her mom ( aunty) are great cooks, were anticipating a yum lunch.

When we arrived there, G and aunty were busy getting the lunch organised and then after most of the main dishes were all set, G started pouring out ladle full of the batter ( rice chilla ) onto the pan...and serving it to us piping hot in turns ...it was really delicious ( chilla and the entire meal ).....so had to get the recipe from her right away.

G gave me the info on the dish - but those days we were busy with winding up our stuff in US and the move back to India and settling down and other issues ....so for a while this dish was out of my mind.
Later remembered it ( sort of ) - tried to recreate it...made some changes...not sure how true to G's recipe I have managed to come to....but have gotten an amazing result...and thought let me share it....