Panki - A tribute to Tarla Dalal

Tarla Dalal ji was the diva of Indian Cuisine, Goddess of Indian Amateur Cooks, the most celebrated cookbook author of India. I don’t have words to describe her glory and achievements. She was an inspirer to many upcoming Cook book author’s, bloggers and I was very much influenced by her books, and started my cooking journey by referring her books. Tarla ji’s website is a hub of Indian & International Cuisine and series of Recipes under Categories such as Healthy Food, Diabetics Friendly, Kid’s recipes, Pregnancy recipes, Zero oil recipe and so on…

Often you will find that some people touch your lives without meeting them personally, on depart of such personalities you feel there is a permanent  vacuum which cant be filled and such was Tarla ji. I came to know about the news when I saw mail from our Blogging Marathon group. With the suggestion of our group member Padma it was decided that we would do a tribute by cooking something from her collection and logo was created by Preeti.

So here’s my small tribute to Tarla ji by cooking one of her favorite dishes : Corn Panki, Panki is a popular snack of Gujarat ideally made with rice flour batter and cooked in banana leaves. There are many varieties of Panki but the most popular is Rice panki and Corn Panki. You can make many variations in panki such as using of moong dal, green peas, beetroot, carrot, onion, palak etc.. it is all upto your creativity. Today I am showing two variations first Rice Panki (Most easy and popular) and Second Corn Panki.

Rice Panki – Simple Rice cakes steamed between banana leaves.

Preparation time : 5 mins

Cooking time : 5 mins

Makes : 12 pankis

Difficulty level : Easy

Ingredients:

1/3 cup rice flour

1 tbsp udad dal flour

1 tsp curd/ dahi/ yogurt

1 tsp green chillies , finely chopped

1/2 tsp jeera powder

1 tsp oil

salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

Banana leaves

Method:

• Cut banana leaves in round using cookie cutter
• grease leaves with oil and keep it aside.
• Mix all ingredients in bowl add 1/2 cup of water and mix well, it should be lump free thick batter.
• Spread 1 tbsp of batter on leaf and place another leaf on top and press gently, taking care that the batter does not come out of the leaf and is an even layer.
• Cook on nonstick pan on medium heat for 2 mins on each side or till brown spots appear on the leaf.

Note: For Microwave version :

• Place the leaf on the microwave plate and cook on microwave high for 2 mins.
• Serve with green chutney or ghee or butter.

Corn Panki – A wonderful snack when corn are in season. Adds zing to panki by using coriander and green chillies.

Preparation time : 10 mins

Cooking time : 20 mins

Makes : 8 pankis

Difficulty level : Easy

Ingredients:

1 cup grated sweet corn or 4 medium sized corn on the cob

2 tbsp semolina / suji / semovita

1/4 cup besan atta / chick pea flour/ channa atta

1/4 cup chopped corainder / dhania

2 tsp oil

salt to taste

Other Ingredients:

Banana leaves

Method:

• Cut banana leaves in round using cookie cutter
• grease leaves with oil and keep it aside.
• Combine all ingredients with 2 tbsp water and mix well.
• Spread 1 tbsp of batter on leaf and place another leaf on top and press gently, taking care that the batter does not come out of the leaf and is an even layer.
• Cook on nonstick pan on medium heat for 3 - 4 mins on each side or till brown spots appear on the leaf.
• Serve when hot.

For Microwave version :

• Place the leaf on the microwave plate and cook on microwave high for 2 mins. Turn the disc and again cook for 1 min on high.
• Serve with green chutney or ghee or butter.

Note:

• Grease the leaves or else the batter will stick to the leaf.
• Cook only 2 – 3 at a time.
• If you do not have a cookie cutter, you can cut into square or rectangle or cut circle by placing cup.
• You can steam the panki in steamer.

We stand by faith that she is forever. May her soul rest in peace.