I write to liberate all the beautiful, confused, happy, sad, bad and good thoughts which remain in the closet of my mind. Mind, I say cause, the heart has a strong filter and allows only thoughts laced with love. For me writing in this blog, is totally like adding wings and letting my thoughts fly out into the realms of my dreams, traverse lands where simplicity and goodness abounds. Whenever I write, almost all the time I like to dwell in a beautiful life full of simple joys, multiplying laughter, subtracting hatred. Well, at least the time my fingers flies over the letters on the keyboards, I like to believe that such a land exists.
It's been a while since I have put down my adventures in my kitchen or any other kitchen that I was lucky to be a part of, here in my Blog. Travel kept me away from my lap top but helped me fill up my trunk with trivia, food memories and lots of things which only make the lips bloom in smile. I did miss my rendezvous with my fantastic readers, but trust me, I have come back with a whole lot of amazing stories and even more awesome recipes, which I am eager to share with you.
By the time I reached home and settled down, the holy month of Ramadan had commenced and I was totally basking in the serene, pious and tranquil atmosphere which is a regular forecast for the entire duration of this holy month. It was also time for our monthly Blog Hop, the topic for which had been chosen as Gujarati Cuisine. I am so thankful to be a part of Culinary Hoppers, primarily because I get to experience the joy of cooking from scratch, dishes which have become synonymous with many a city in India. While I was deciding on what type of dish I would be cooking, my desire was swinging in favour of the huge repertoire of Gujarati snacks. Then began the quest to find a snack which would not be deep fried. Our month long travel and eating out had rendered our gut delicate, therefore, the vote was for something light and yummy.
Surti Locho fit the bill to perfection. It was a snack made practically with very little oil and as I read several stories about it's immense popularity in Surat, the city known for diamonds in India, I knew that I had to try this. I never put up a dish on my Blog after cooking it the first time. Therefore in the little span of time that was left for our Blog Hop, I needed to make this dish at least twice before it went up on the Blog. I reached out to a very dear Gujarati friend, Nargis whose mother luckily hailed from Surat. I went to her home without wasting any time and asked her to make Locho for me. I must admit I was completely blown away by how delicious this simple snack tasted. The simplicity and taste of this snack are its uniqueness and I made a serving for 8 with 2 1/2 Tsp of oil. I have made it the third time today on popular demand from a surprise person in my family, Mr. S. whose love for vegetarian food is not much known.
Before we go to the recipe I would love to add that Gujarati cuisine consists primarily of vegetarian fare, is robust in terms of flavour and the variety is simply unbelievable. Depending on the climatic conditions and local produce, dishes are designed and therefore are as varied as can be in this western state of India.
So let me take you through the ingredients and steps involved in making this very popular and supremely delicious and super healthy Gujarati snack, Surti Locho.
Before we go to the recipe I would love to add that Gujarati cuisine consists primarily of vegetarian fare, is robust in terms of flavour and the variety is simply unbelievable. Depending on the climatic conditions and local produce, dishes are designed and therefore are as varied as can be in this western state of India.
So let me take you through the ingredients and steps involved in making this very popular and supremely delicious and super healthy Gujarati snack, Surti Locho.
SURTI LOCHO RECIPE ~
SERVES ~ 8
CUISINE ~ INDIAN / GUJARATI
TYPE ~ SNACK / STREET FOOD
TIME ~ 15 MINUTES PREPARATION + 20 MINUTES COOKING/STEAMING + 5 MINUTES GARNISHING + 5-6 HOURS SOAKING THE LENTILS
INGREDIENTS :
1) 1 Cup (225 Gms or 14 Tbsp approximately) Skinned Split Bengal Gram / Chana Dal
2) 1/3 Cup (75 Gms or 5 Tbsp approximately) Skinned Black Grams / Urad Dal
3) 1/3 Cup ( 5 Tbsp or 75 Gms approximately) Flattened Rice / Beaten Rice / Poha
4) 2 1/2 Tsp Oil
5) 2 Green Chillies finely chopped
6) 1 Tsp Ginger Paste or Ginger finely chopped
7) 1 large pinch Asafoetida / Hing ( I have used gluten free asafoetida )
8) 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
9) 1 Tsp Eno Fruit Salt
10) 1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
11) 1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper Powder / Kuti Kali Mirch
12) Salt to taste
13) 1/2 Cup Water
FOR GARNISHING AND SERVING :
1) 8 Tbsp Mint Coriander Chutney
2) 8 ~ 10 Green Chillies
3) 1 Large Onion Chopped
4) 8 Tsp Chopped Coriander
5) 8 Tbsp Pomegranate Arils
6) 8 Tbsp Fried Gram Flour Noodles / Sev
7) 4 Tsp Chaat Masala ( Optional )
8) 1 Lime cut into wedges
MAKE SURTI LOCHO WITH ME IN EASY STEPS :
1) Wash the skinned split bengal gram and skinned black gram thoroughly in separate bowls. Cover them with water and soak then overnight or at least for 5~6 hours.
Transfer the combined paste into a large mixing bowl.
In the same grinder whizz into a coarse paste.
Add 1 or more Tbsp of water to facilitate the grinding.
Transfer this coarse paste into the same mixing bowl.
INGREDIENTS :
1) 1 Cup (225 Gms or 14 Tbsp approximately) Skinned Split Bengal Gram / Chana Dal
2) 1/3 Cup (75 Gms or 5 Tbsp approximately) Skinned Black Grams / Urad Dal
3) 1/3 Cup ( 5 Tbsp or 75 Gms approximately) Flattened Rice / Beaten Rice / Poha
4) 2 1/2 Tsp Oil
5) 2 Green Chillies finely chopped
6) 1 Tsp Ginger Paste or Ginger finely chopped
7) 1 large pinch Asafoetida / Hing ( I have used gluten free asafoetida )
8) 1/4 Tsp Turmeric Powder
9) 1 Tsp Eno Fruit Salt
10) 1/2 Tsp Red Chilli Powder
11) 1/2 Tsp Ground Black Pepper Powder / Kuti Kali Mirch
12) Salt to taste
13) 1/2 Cup Water
FOR GARNISHING AND SERVING :
1) 8 Tbsp Mint Coriander Chutney
2) 8 ~ 10 Green Chillies
3) 1 Large Onion Chopped
4) 8 Tsp Chopped Coriander
5) 8 Tbsp Pomegranate Arils
6) 8 Tbsp Fried Gram Flour Noodles / Sev
7) 4 Tsp Chaat Masala ( Optional )
8) 1 Lime cut into wedges
MAKE SURTI LOCHO WITH ME IN EASY STEPS :
1) Wash the skinned split bengal gram and skinned black gram thoroughly in separate bowls. Cover them with water and soak then overnight or at least for 5~6 hours.
- Wash and soak the flattened rice covered with water, in a separate bowl for 10 minutes.
2) Drain the water from the skinned black gram. Wash again. Transfer into a grinder or food processor and grind into a smooth paste. You may require to add a Tbsp of water or little more to aid the grinding process.
- Drain water from the soaked flattened rice and add the flattened rice into the skinned black gram paste in the grinder. Whizz the grinder a couple of times to incorporate the flattened rice into the earlier ground skinned black gram paste.
- Transfer the combined paste into a large mixing bowl.
- Transfer this coarse paste into the same mixing bowl.
- Add chopped green chillies, ginger paste or ginger chopped, asafoetida, turmeric, salt and 2 Tsp oil to the mixture in the bowl. Mix well with a spoon again.
- NOTE : Your Locho mixture should not be very thick nor should it be runny. It should easily fall off a spoon when you take a spoonful of Locho mixture and tilt the spoon. To reach this consistency you can add water to the Locho mixture and stir it into the mixture.
5) Get your steamer ready. If you do not have a steamer take a large deep pan.
NOTE : This pan should be large enough so that we can place a bowl which will hold the entire mixture prepared above inside it.
- Add 2~3 Cups of water into this pan. Cover the pan and bring the water in the pan to a rolling boil. The idea is to create enough steam to cook the Surti Locho.
6) Meanwhile take the bowl in which you will steam your Surti Locho mixture. Using the remaining 1/2 Tsp oil, oil the walls and floor of the bowl nicely.
7) Add Eno fruit salt to the Surti Locho mixture now.
NOTE : Add the Eno fruit salt to the Surti Locho mixture just before steaming the mixture. Do not add eno fruit salt and keep the mixture as this will result in your Surti Locho not becoming soft, spongy and fluffy.
- Stir the Eno fruit salt into the Surti Locho mixture very gently. You can see that instantly the Locho mixture becomes fluffy as the the eno fruit salt is incorporated in the mixture.
8) Transfer the Surti Locho mixture into your greased bowl. Tap gently to get the Locho mixture to settle evenly in the bowl.
NOTE : The bowl in which you will steam the Locho mixture should be large enough so that you can easily leave 2 ~3 inches from the top of this bowl as the Locho will rise and fluff up during steaming.
- Sprinkle red chilli powder and crushed black pepper powder on top of the Locho mixture in the bowl. Your Locho mixture is now completely ready to go into the steamer to be cooked.
9) Place carefully a round metal cooling rack or a round metal stand ( those on which we keep hot pots and pans with food ) into the large bowl where the water is boiling and forming steam. Place the bowl with the Locho mixture on top of this metal rack or stand. The idea of the metal rack or stand is to keep your bowl with the Locho mixture raised so that water does not enter the bowl while steaming.
- Steam the Surti Locho mixture for 20 minutes covered.
10) At the end of 20 minutes, carefully open the lid of the large pan. You should see that your Locho has nicely puffed up. Take a clean knife. Insert the knife from top to bottom at any part of the Locho. If the knife comes out clean, your Locho is ready. You can switch off your burner. But, if the knife does not come out clean, cover the large pan back with the lid and steam for 5 more minutes.
- Your Surti Locho is completely ready and its time to plate it.
11) To serve the Locho Scoop out a portion of the Locho from the bowl into a serving plate. You do not have to cut out even portions. Locho is supposed to be uneven in size and shape. Further break the Locho into smaller pieces.
- Garnish with chopped onions, coriander leaves, pomegranate arils, mint and coriander chutney. Sprinkle Chaat masala on top and also top up with the fried gram flour noodles.
- Serve along with Lemon wedges and whole green chillies. (Also sometimes green chilli pickle is served.)
- Generally it is served warm but you can serve it cold too.
Trust me friends once you make this Surti Locho in your kitchen you will hooked onto it forever. It is very very easy to make and can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack or even packed into your little one's tiffin box. It is yummy, healthy and protein rich and is a delicious way to enhance your intake of plant based proteins.
If you do try this recipe kindly leave a comment below and if you have any queries I will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability. Looking forward to hearing from you.
STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE HOW TO MAKE SURTI LOCHO WITH PICTURES ~
1) Wash the skinned split bengal gram and skinned black gram thoroughly in separate bowls. Cover them with water and soak then overnight or at least for 5~6 hours.
- Wash and soak the flattened rice covered with water, in a separate bowl for 10 minutes.
2) Drain the water from the skinned black gram. Wash again. Transfer into a grinder or food processor.
Grind into a smooth paste.
You may require to add a Tbsp of water or little more to aid the grinding process.
Drain water from the soaked flattened rice and add the flattened rice into the skinned black gram paste in the grinder. Whizz the grinder a couple of times to incorporate the flattened rice into the earlier ground skinned black gram paste.
3) Drain water from the skinned split bengal gram , wash.
Add chopped green chillies, ginger paste or ginger chopped, asafoetida, turmeric, salt and 2 Tsp oil to the mixture in the bowl. Mix well with a spoon again.
5) Get your steamer ready. If you do not have a steamer take a large deep pan. Add 2~3 Cups of water into this pan.
Cover the pan and bring the water in the pan to a rolling boil. The idea is to create enough steam to cook the Surti Locho.
6) Meanwhile take the bowl in which you will steam your Surti Locho mixture. Using the remaining 1/2 Tsp oil, oil the walls and floor of the bowl nicely.
7) Add Eno fruit salt to the Surti Locho mixture now.
NOTE : Add the Eno fruit salt to the Surti Locho mixture just before steaming the mixture. Do not add eno fruit salt and keep the mixture as this will result in your Surti Locho not becoming soft, spongy and fluffy.
Stir the Eno fruit salt into the Surti Locho mixture very gently. You can see that instantly the Locho mixture becomes fluffy as the the eno fruit salt is incorporated in the mixture.
NOTE : Do not stir the Eno fruit salt into the Surti Locho mixture vigorously.
8) Transfer the Surti Locho mixture into your greased bowl. Tap gently to get the Locho mixture to settle evenly in the bowl.
NOTE : The bowl in which you will steam the Locho mixture should be large enough so that you can easily leave 2 ~3 inches from the top of this bowl as the Locho will rise and fluff up during steaming.
Sprinkle red chilli powder and crushed black pepper powder on top of the Locho mixture in the bowl. Your Locho mixture is now completely ready to go into the steamer to be cooked.
9) Place carefully a round metal cooling rack or a round metal stand ( those on which we keep hot pots and pans with food ) into the large bowl where the water is boiling and forming steam. Place the bowl with the Locho mixture on top of this metal rack or stand. The idea of the metal rack or stand is to keep your bowl with the Locho mixture raised so that water does not enter the bowl while steaming.
Steam the Surti Locho mixture for 20 minutes covered.
10) At the end of 20 minutes, carefully open the lid of the large pan. You should see that your Locho has nicely puffed up. Refer picture below.
Take a clean knife. Insert the knife from top to bottom at any part of the Locho.
If the knife comes out clean, your Locho is ready. You can switch off your burner. But, if the knife does not come out clean, cover the large pan back with the lid and steam for 5 more minutes.
- Your Surti Locho is completely ready and its time to plate it.
11) To serve the Locho Scoop out a portion of the Locho from the bowl into a serving plate. You do not have to cut out even portions. Locho is supposed to be uneven in size and shape. Further break the Locho into smaller pieces.
- Garnish with chopped onions, coriander leaves, pomegranate arils, mint and coriander chutney. Sprinkle Chaat masala on top and also top up with the fried gram flour noodles.
- Serve along with Lemon wedges and whole green chillies. (Also sometimes green chilli pickle is served.)
- Generally it is served warm but you can serve it cold too.
Reference :
https://youtu.be/6b1aOfjPLq8
DO MOST DEFINITELY CHECK OUT THESE SCRUMPTIOS DISHES FROM GUJARATI CUISINE BY MY BLOGGER FRIENDS FROM CULINARY HOPPERS BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW ~
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+Anu Nagaraja ~ CABBAGE MUTHIA, GUJARATI STEAMED TEMPERED DUMPLINGS
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+jayashree trao ~ METHI KHAKRA
+jayashree trao ~ PUFFED RICE BALLS AKA GUJARATI MAMRA NA LADOO
+Anu Nagaraja ~ CABBAGE MUTHIA, GUJARATI STEAMED TEMPERED DUMPLINGS
+Parvathy Vijayakumar ~ MUTHIYA/ STEAMED CHICKPEA FLOUR DUMPLINGS
+Poornima hegde ~ KHANDVI / DAHIVADI
+Shobana Vijay ~ GUJARATI TREVTI DAL RECIPE
+Padma Veeranki / Masalakorb ~ GUJARATI SUMMER THALI
+Padma Veeranki / Masalakorb ~ GUJARATI FAJETO RECIPE
+Padma Veeranki / Masalakorb ~ KARELA BATATA NU SHAAK / BITTER GOURD CURRY RECIPE
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