Goan mixed bhaji is a delicious combination of Patol/Patal bhaji (dried peas curry) and patal batat bhaji (potato curry). The word patal refers to a curry of thin or runny consistency. This is a popular dish served for breakfast along with some fresh pooris or pav bread (dinner rolls) . Goan mixed bhaji does make for one awesome, comforting and satisfying breakfast or a light meal!
Mix bhaji is one of the most popular Goan breakfast dishes . We prefer having these curries with poori (unleavened deep-fried puffy Indian bread). This is the kind of breakfast we love to indulge in once in a blue moon. And calories are forgotten, because once in a while everyone deserves a cheat day!
This patal bhaji needs a little prep work a day before since the dried peas need to be soaked. The rest of it is pretty simple and basic. A little tempering and sprinkle of few spices are all that is required to make these two simple yet delicious curries. They are usually served as a mix in a plate along with some piping hot pooris or pav in Goan cafes or restaurants or even the street side food carts!
Potato bhaji is prepared differently across the length and breadth of India! It is literally, a very versatile dish that is very adaptive to individual taste. You make a dry potato bhaji, known as sukhi bhaji if you prefer it that way.
I’m sharing the way I’ve learnt to make this Goan mixed bhaji from my Mum in law!! Best enjoyed with pooris or if you really don’t feel like it, then ladi pav is your next best bet!
This version of dried peas curry/ patal bhaji does not use any coconut, nor does it involve any grinding of spice paste. It is a quick version, which just uses some basic pantry spices. I’ve already shared the coconut version aka Goan chana ros/ chanya ros , you can check that recipe here.
Both these curries are vegan and gluten-free on their own. Pair it with your choice of gluten-free bread for a gluten-free meal.
- STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GOAN MIXED BHAJI
- HOW TO MAKE GOAN MIXED BHAJI?
- Goan Mixed Bhaji (Patal Bhaji & Patal Potato Bhaji)
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GOAN MIXED BHAJI
FOR THE WHITE PEAS CURRY/PATAL BHAJI
1.Wash the dried peas well, soak in sufficient water overnight. Next day, pressure cook with 2 cups of water and a little salt, on medium heat for 3-4 whistles until soft and well cooked. It shouldn’t be too mushy.
2.Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
3.Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
4.Add chopped onions, sauté until it turns translucent.
5.Add chopped tomatoes, cook until it turns mushy.
6.Add all the spice powders, saute another 30 seconds.
7.Add the cooked peas. Add some stock from the pressure cooker, or add extra water as per desired curry consistency. Bring to a boil, simmer for another 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
7.Sprinkle chopped cilantro, and switch off the heat.
FOR THE PATAL POTATO BHAJI
1.Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
2.Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
3.Add chopped onions, and chopped green chillies, sauté until it turns translucent.
4.Add the turmeric powder, saute another 30 seconds.
5.Add 1 cup water and salt to taste, mix well. Bring to boil.
6.Add potato cubes, cover and cook on medium-low heat until potato is soft and tender. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.Sprinkle cilantro and switch off the heat.
Serve both the dishes with pooris / pav .
HOW TO MAKE GOAN MIXED BHAJI?
Goan Mixed Bhaji (Patal Bhaji & Patal Potato Bhaji)
Ingredients
Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
For the white peas curry/Patal bhaji
- 1 cup dried white peas
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 inch ginger, finely minced
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt, to taste
- 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
For the potato bhaji
- 1 & 1/2 cup finely chopped potato cubes, about 2 medium potatoes
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise or chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 inch ginger, finely minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
Instructions
For the white peas curry/patal bhaji
- Wash the dried peas well, soak in sufficient water overnight. Next day, pressure cook with 2 cups of water and a little salt, on medium heat for 3-4 whistles until soft and well cooked. It shouldn’t be too mushy.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
- Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions, sauté until it turns translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes, cook until it turns mushy.
- Add all the spice powders, saute another 30 seconds.
- Add the cooked peas. Add some stock from the pressure cooker, or add extra water as per desired curry consistency. Bring to a boil, simmer for another 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro, and switch off the heat.
For the patal potato bhaji
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
- Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions and chopped green chillies, sauté until it turns translucent.
- Add the turmeric powder, saute another 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup water and salt to taste, mix well. Bring to boil.
- Add potato cubes, cover and cook on medium-low heat until potato is soft and tender. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Sprinkle cilantro and switch off the heat.
- Serve both the dishes with pooris/pav.
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com
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Regards,
Freda
Goan Mixed Bhaji (Patal Bhaji & Patal Potato Bhaji)
Ingredients
Measuring cup used, 1 Cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
For the white peas curry/Patal bhaji
- 1 cup dried white peas
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 inch ginger, finely minced
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- 1 tbsp oil
- Salt, to taste
- 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
For the potato bhaji
- 1 & 1/2 cup finely chopped potato cubes, about 2 medium potatoes
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 7-8 curry leaves
- 2-3 green chillies, slit lengthwise or chopped finely
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1/4 inch ginger, finely minced
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onions
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp hing (asafoetida)
- Salt, to taste
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2-3 tbsp chopped cilantro
Instructions
For the white peas curry/patal bhaji
- Wash the dried peas well, soak in sufficient water overnight. Next day, pressure cook with 2 cups of water and a little salt, on medium heat for 3-4 whistles until soft and well cooked. It shouldn’t be too mushy.
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
- Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions, sauté until it turns translucent.
- Add chopped tomatoes, cook until it turns mushy.
- Add all the spice powders, saute another 30 seconds.
- Add the cooked peas. Add some stock from the pressure cooker, or add extra water as per desired curry consistency. Bring to a boil, simmer for another 5 minutes. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly.
- Sprinkle chopped cilantro, and switch off the heat.
For the patal potato bhaji
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add mustard seeds, once it crackles, add hing (asafoetida), curry leaves and sauté until the curry leaves turn crisp.
- Add ginger and garlic, sauté until fragrant.
- Add chopped onions and chopped green chillies, sauté until it turns translucent.
- Add the turmeric powder, saute another 30 seconds.
- Add 1 cup water and salt to taste, mix well. Bring to boil.
- Add potato cubes, cover and cook on medium-low heat until potato is soft and tender. Check for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Sprinkle cilantro and switch off the heat.
- Serve both the dishes with pooris/pav.
This lightly crisp yet soft, chewy and Indian puffed bread, Poori, also known as Puri is great to mop up any curry of your choice. Potato bhaji and aamras (mango pulp) are amongst the popular choices to pair these pooris with.
WHAT IS PURI | POORI?
Poori is a whole wheat, unleavened, crispy, yet soft & puffy, deep-fried Indian bread. This Indian poori is paired with so many classic dishes like poori bhaji (poori served with aloo sabzi, also known as aloo puri). Other popular combinations are chana poori, dal puri, halwa poori, or it is simply enjoyed with some shrikhand or aamras.
My son loves this crispy Indian bread, and can easily gobble up a number of them. I don’t know any kid or adult for that matter who doesn’t like crispy poori ! As a kid, I did enjoy having them with potato sabzi. It is an absolutely heavenly combination.
If you follow my blog, you know I don’t share a lot of deep-fried foods, that’s simply coz we don’t eat much of it at home. So even though my son enjoys pooris, I restrict it to just once a month or twice maybe. Thankfully, he isn’t very demanding that way.
PURI INGREDIENTS
Basically, you need only wheat flour, salt, water, and oil to make pooris. That’s all! Semolina is added for extra crispiness and it also helps the puri to stay puffed for a longer time.
HOW TO PREPARE POORI?
Making perfectly puffed poori bread is an art and definitely comes along with practice. Watching a poori puffing up is a sheer delight.
Pooris are made with atta i.e. whole wheat flour. Besides atta, you will require some salt and oil. Making puri dough is quite easy. But you need to remember that the dough has to be stiff, if the dough is too soft, it won’t puff up well or may not puff at all. Below are the detailed stepwise instructions to make the perfect wheat puri recipe .
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY DO POORIS SWELL UP?
It is simple science. The dough to make this Indian bread has water. So when the rolled out dough hits the hot oil, the water is converted into steam, which tries to escape and this helps the upper layer of the dough to rise, making the poori puff. That is why it so important to roll out the dough evenly, or else they won’t puff up uniformly.
Now that I answered that, I’m sure you also have this question? W hy do puris float on the oil while frying? Again it’s simple science, o nce the pooris puff, they basically have air in them, and since air is lighter than oil, the puffed pooris will float 🙂
HOW TO MAKE GOOD PURI? HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO MAKE SOFT AND PUFFY POORI, THAT I’VE LEARNT FROM MY MUM-IN-LAW
- The puri dough should not be too soft, it should be smooth and stiff.
- Do not use excess flour to dust the board and rolling pin while rolling out the dough, all the excess flour on the rolled pooris will leave a burnt flour residue in the wok/kadai. Grease the board and rolling pin with some oil instead, to facilitate smooth rolling.
- Remember to cover the rest of the dough balls with a damp kitchen napkin or else they will dry out.
- Pooris have to be rolled out evenly, or else they will not puff up.
- If you are wondering how to make puris less oily , then pay close attention to the temperature of the oil. The temperature of the oil is important to fry the pooris. If it is not hot enough, the poori will absorb a lot of oil, if it’s too hot, it will brown quickly and will not cook from within. To test drop a small piece of dough, it should sizzle up quickly. If you have a thermometer, you can use that to check the temperature of the oil. It should be heated up to 375 degrees F.
- Press the back of a ladle against the poori as soon as it begins floating on the surface of the oil, this helps in puffing it up.
Ideally, the dough is divided into several balls, and each is rolled out. I take the shorter way out and roll out a big circle then use a round cutter and cut smaller circles. It just saves a lot of time, especially these days when I can barely work at leisure in the kitchen.
POORI VARIETIES | DIFFERENT TYPES OF POORI RECIPE
You can also make them with maida (all purpose flour). The pooris made from maida as called luchis, which are a Bengali version of pooris. Luchis are generally served with Bengali style dum aloo .
Some pooris are also stuffed with sheera/suji halwa and deep-fried, a specialty of Andhra Pradesh. They are known as sojjappam.
You can also make another interesting variation of pooris known as masala poori, by adding spices like turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, dried fenugreek leaves, and a pinch of asafoetida to this dough.
The other types of poori that I prepare are spinach, beetroot, and carrot pooris. Make a puree of the vegetables, and add it to the flour to knead the dough.
To make my son’s plate interesting, I use different shaped cookie cutters for the pooris, these bite-sized pooris look cute and are a fun meal indeed for the little ones! It makes it even more appealing to them.
TO SUM IT ALL UP, REMEMBER THE KEYS TO MAKE A FLAKY, PUFFY, CRISPY, AND SOFT PURI-
- The right consistency of the dough
- Pooris have to be rolled out evenly
- The right temperature of the oil
LOVED THIS EASY, SOFT PURI RECIPE? THEN DO CHECK OUT THESE INDIAN FLATBREADS THAT I HAVE SHARED EARLIER
- Stovetop plain kulcha and garlic kulcha
- Aloo paratha
- Paneer paratha
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE CRISPY, SOFT, AND PUFFY POORI AT HOME.
HOW TO MAKE POORI DOUGH
1.In a large mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, salt. Add oil and mix well to incorporate the oil into the flour. Then add water, little at a time, and knead to make a stiff dough. Cover with a clean napkin and set aside to rest for 10-15 minutes.
2.METHODS OF ROLLING THE POORIS
Method 1-
- After the resting time, knead the dough again for another minute. Apply some oil on your palms, divide the dough into small equal balls, about walnut sized. Flatten each between your palms, cover all the flattened dough discs with a kitchen napkin.
- Apply a little oil on your rolling pin and work surface. Place a flattened disc, and roll it out to a diameter of about 4 inches. It should not be too thick nor too thin. Prepare a few more in the same manner, do not stack them, simply lay them next to another. Cover all the rolled out discs with a kitchen napkin.
Method 2-
- Divide the dough into 2 parts, roll out one part of dough evenly to a diameter of about 12 inches, using a cutter to make smaller discs. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Remember to keep the cut-out pooris covered. Gather the scraps, roll out an cut out few more discs. Use more oil if required to roll out the dough.
3.FRYING THE POORIS
Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai over medium heat. To test if the oil has reached the right temperature, slide a small piece of dough, it will sink initially, sizzle up in seconds and rise to the surface of the oil. This is the right temperature. If it sits at the bottom of the kadai for too long before rising, the oil is still cold.
4.Once the oil has reached the right temperature, gently slide a poori in the hot oil. It will sink, then sizzle and rise up within seconds. Press the poori gently with the back of a ladle, this will help in puffing the poori. Carefully flip and fry the other side, until golden brown. Depending on the size of your kadai, you can fry 2-3 pooris at a time.
5.Remove on a plate lined with paper towel to drain of excess oil. If fried at the right temperature, pooris do not absorb much oil. Serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice.
NOTES
1.Please exercise precaution while frying the pooris as the oil is very hot. Remember to slide the pooris in gently to avoid any oil from splashing on you.
2.For added crispness, you can add 1- 2 tbsp semolina to the wheat flour.
HOW TO MAKE POORI?
Poori Recipe | Puri Recipe | How To Make Pooris
Ingredients1x2x3x
Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml.
- 2 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
- 2 tbsp oil + more oil. as required for deep frying
- Salt, to taste
- Water, as required to knead the dough
Instructions
How to make poori dough
- In a large mixing bowl, add whole wheat flour, salt. Add oil and mix well to incorporate the oil into the flour. Then add water, little at a time, and knead to make a stiff dough. Cover with a clean napkin and set aside to rest for 10-15 minutes.
Methods of rolling the pooris
Method 1
- After the resting time, knead the dough again for another minute. Apply some oil on your palms, divide the dough into small equal balls, about walnut sized. Flatten each between your palms, cover all the flattened dough discs with a kitchen napkin.
- Apply a little oil on your rolling pin and work surface. Place a flattened disc, and roll it out to a diameter of about 4 inches. It should not be too thick nor too thin. Prepare a few more in the same manner, do not stack them, simply lay them next to another. Cover all the rolled out discs with a kitchen napkin.
Method 2
- Divide the dough into 2 parts, roll out one part of dough evenly to a diameter of about 12 inches, use a cutter to make smaller discs. Repeat with the remaining half of the dough. Remember to keep the cut-out pooris covered. Gather the scraps, roll out an cut out few more discs. Use more oil if required to roll out the dough.
Frying the pooris
- Heat oil in a heavy bottomed kadai over medium heat. To test if the oil has reached the right temperature, slide a small piece of dough, it will sink initially, sizzle up in seconds and rise to the surface of the oil. This is the right temperature. If it sits at the bottom of the kadai for too long before rising, the oil is still cold.
- Once the oil has reached the right temperature, gently slide a poori in the hot oil. It will sink, then sizzle and rise up within seconds. Press the poori gently with the back of a ladle, this will help in puffing the poori. Carefully flip and fry the other side, until golden brown. Depending on the size of your kadai, you can fry 2-3 pooris at a time.
- Remove on a plate lined with paper towel to drain of excess oil. If fried at the right temperature, pooris do not absorb much oil. Serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice.
Notes
- Please exercise precaution while frying the pooris as the oil is very hot. Remember to slide the pooris in gently to avoid any oil from splashing on you.
- For added crispness, you can add 1- 2 tbsp semolina to the wheat flour.
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com
You can also follow me on :
Facebook @ Aromaticessence
Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence
Instagram @ aromatic_essence77
Twitter @ freda_dias
Regards,
Freda
