Lucchi (Bengali fried bread) and an award!

Poori-masala is one of the most welcomed food combo in our house. Infact it is JM's one of the favourite foods (and he doesnt have that many favourites!). But we make them at home less often. That actually make them all the more special. After coming to US, I stuck to just the basic Indian recipes like rice and a curry or something. But later on I started making most of our Indian specialities. But only recently did I REALLY know that JM loved this combo A LOT!! This time I decided to try out Lucchis which I came across in a cookbook. Lucchis are basically pooris with semolina added to them, which actually gives them a slight resemblance to baturas. The semolina also helps to hold the puffed up shape of the pooris longer than the regular pooris would. The lucchis also have fennel added to them for fragrance. And they taste phenomenal! It would go well with any curry, we had it with some beef curry and onion salad. Enjoy!

Recipe (Makes 8 lucchis) :

All-purpose flour - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Fine semolina - 1 tbsp
Fennel - 1 tsp, dry roasted and ground
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 1/4 cup
Oil - for frying

Method:

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Add the semolina and fennel and mix well.

In another bowl combine water and oil.

Mix together with the dry ingredients.

Knead well to make a smooth dough, adding more water if necessary.

Cover the bowl with a cloth and set the dough aside for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into eight balls, flatten slightly and then roll them out in the shape of disks (4-5" diameter).

Heat the oil in a wok/kadai until very hot.

Fry the breads one at a time, flicking the hot oil over the top so that it puffs up.

Turn and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with Indian curries.

Source: Authentic recipes from India by Brinder Narula.

Tips:

1. I made 1 1/2 recipe to get 12 lucchis.
2. While frying the pooris, push down the bread under the oil so that it will easily puff up.
   

Once again, I have an award to cherish and share! Neha of Tasty recipes passed me the Nice Matters award. Thank you so much Neha, I am happy to know that I am in the thoughts of a few blogger friends. It feels great to be appreciated, and thanks for being nice and for making my day!! :-)

"Nice Matters Award is for those bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world.”

I would like to pass this onto

Purnima of Cook
Roopa of My kitchen treats
Hetal of Isha's kitchen
Vani of Illatharasi

Enjoy your awards! :-)

I am sending this to the Roti mela hosted by Srivalli at Cooking 4 all seasons.