American Paplu....Tribute to my Papa

This is my entry to . Magic Bullet Giveaway Contest, hosted @ Fun and Food Cafe.

I don't know where to start. I guess I will start with how he was. My dad, my dearest papa, was full of life, always smiling, always confident. He was simply the biggest influence in my life. He lived a tough life. He lost his father when he was 22 years old. He left his cricket career and opened a shop to earn a living as he was kinda head of the house in a family of 9 with 3 younger unmarried sisters. I lost him 2 years back and ironically and sadly, my brother was 22 at that time. It was the biggest loss of our lives. I had a tough time coming to terms with this loss. I still hear his voice and see him in my dream sometimes. He always wanted to see us smiling, me, my brother, and my mom. There are a lot of my father's memories that I want to share, but I can't otherwise this post will be pages and pages long. He used to call me - "Queen Victoria". He was a big foodie, and as I mentioned in my profile, I developed interest and passion for cooking because of him.


Coming to the recipe, we had this dish at one of my cousin's wedding many many years ago. I was a little kid and couldn't remember the name but it was awesome. My mom always wanted to make it, but she couldn't because she did not have the recipe. One day papa found this recipe and told my mom to make it in next cooking competition. Before the actual contest, she made it and it was a hit. My neighbors and family members loved it.

In Diwali of 1999, he and my mom submitted my name for one of cooking competition instead of my mom without asking me. I was surprised and reluctant at first because I never took part in any cooking competition before that, but he kept on saying "You can do it and it’s a "paplu" of a dish. In Bambaiya Hindi, the word "paplu" means very very easy. He also named the dish as "American Paplu."


I took part with this recipe, and I won. I was very happy, and my dad was even happier. One day he told me that he thinks American Paplu is nothing else but a recipe for spicy American Potato Pastry.

After this whenever I asked him about what he wanted to eat, the answer invariably was American Paplu. So here's your favorite dish papa. Love you, dad.

Ingredients:-

• 2 Potato, boiled
  
• 1/2 cup Green Peas, boiled
  
• 1/4 cup Red Bell pepper, chopped
  
• 6 Garlic cloves, crushed
  
• 1 tsp Ginger, grated
  
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric
  
• 1 tbsp Red Chile Powder
  
• 1 tsp Paav-Bhaji Masala
  
• 1 tbsp Green Chili, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Sugar
  
• 3 tbsp Lemon Juice
  
• 2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
  
• 1 tbsp Mint, chopped
  
• Bread, slices
  
• All-purpose flour
  
• Amul Cheese, grated
  
• Chat Masala
  
• Maggie Tomato Ketchup
  
• Mint chutney
  
• Salt to taste
  

Method:-
1. Take 2 bowls. Mash both potatoes in separate bowls.

2. In first bowl, mix peas, green chili, cilantro, salt, mint. Split garlic, ginger, lemon juice, dhania-jeera, and turmeric in half. Put it in first bowl. Mix well.

3. In second bowl, mix carrot, red bell pepper, red chili powder, paav-bhaji masala, remaining half of garlic, ginger, sugar, lemon juice, dhania-jeera, and salt. Mix well.

4. Cut the edged of the bread slices. Spread potato mix from first bowl on one side. Flip the bread around and spread potatoes mix from second bowl.

5. Cut slice into four pieces and cover them with all-purpose flour.

6. Fry until its golden brown.

7. Drain access oil and immediately sprinkle cheese on hot paplus/pastries.

8. Garnish one corner with mint chutney and other half with tomato ketchup and chat masala.

9. Serve hot.

Enjoy...

This is my entry to Priti and Purva's Rakhi – Thread of Love event.




This is my entry to Magic Bullet Giveaway Contest, hosted @ Fun and Food Cafe.