INDIAN- MANGALORE BUNS- Mildly sweet Banana Puris

Indian food has a lot of spices and aromas, but that doesn't mean spicy hot ... The spice is in the aroma of the dish..--unknown source..

One of the great themes pervading Indian life is social interdependence.  People are born into groups-families,clans, religious communities and feel a deep sense of inseparability from these groups.  People are deeply involved with others, and for many, the greatest fear is the possibility of being left alone, without social support.  Economic activities, too, are deeply embedded in the social nexus. Through a multitude of kinship ties, almost everywhere a person goes, he finds a relative from whom he can expect moral and practical support.
  

Fear of the unknown filled with anxiety mixed together with excitement  is common among all who come to live in foreign countries especially after marriage.  When you find your niche with some lovely people, you take a deep breath and try to find the same solace you had in your motherland.  

I feel extremely lucky to have a friends like family in every stage of my life.  Moving from a cozy apartment to our own home was a new venture and an exciting one.  My very pretty neighbor and I formed a Home Improvement bond, in the sense we saw only the top of our heads:).  Passing a cup of sugar, to liquid detergent..nothing was off boundary when it came to needing something urgent...There were times, when we thought, we have to break two boards of the fence so it's easier for kids to walk over and for us to not just see the top of our heads when we talk.  

A good cook she is, LUCKY ME. One rainy day she shared this banana poori also known as Mangalore Buns  with spicy lentil curry, and  all I can say about it is yummmmm.  Served with something spicy, it makes the  slight sweetness of the Poori a bit subtler.  It's a little deviation to the normal poori (a deep fried flat bread), this has bit of a spongier and denser feel to it with a bread like texture.  Talked about this to my foodie dad, and he jumped back saying he knew about this and has eaten this on his trips to Mangalore...umm and now that I know about it, I make it often and we all just love it, thanks to my friend...Very simple with few ingredients is a must try.  


BANANA POORI/ MANGALORE BUNS

Ingredients:

All purpose flour/maida  - 2cups - could also mix in whole wheat flour
2 whole very ripe bananas mashed
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
Salt
Vegetable Oil for deep frying

Method:

1.  In a large bowl, add All purpose flour, salt, baking soda, nigella seeds and mix well.
2.  Add yogurt, mashed bananas and make the dough with no water at all.  If the dough is very sticky you can add a bit more flour to make it to a chapatti/tortilla dough.  It shouldn't be very soft or very hard.  
3.  Leave it covered for 2-3 hours.
4.  Keep 2-3 cups of vegetable oil and bring it to very hot temperature.  Please be cautious at this point. Test if the oil is ready by either dropping very slowly a small piece of the dough in the oil or dip a wooden stick, if bubbles form around it, it is ready to fry.
5.  Take a small portion and make small pooris and deep fry in oil.   
It's great with any spicy curry or ginger chicken curry(which I'll have in a later post). 

ENJOY!!