Thursday, January 29, 2009

Something something!

In our local Indian store, the newest attraction is 'Madras Samosa'! It's only around the late 90s, that Chaat houses started creeping up in Chennai but now there is a local version of the Samosa??  The crust of this new entrant is crispy which makes me wonder if some wrap (tortilla or wanton wraps) is used for the crust. So, does that mean from scratch preparations are punjabi(?) samosas and semi-homemades (Sandra Lee ishtyle) are Madras versions?!! If so, what wraps do they use in Madras?

Sometime back during a discussion with A1(my older one) about eating habits, I happened to mention that my grandma often said kids can & should eat anything & everything and that they are even capable of digesting stones. These days the pulses / lentils/ dals' (especially tur dal) quality has come down a lot.  Either it takes too long to cook(some don't cook very well even after an over-night soak!) or there are impurities in them. So, when A1 discovered a stone in her food once, she asked me, "do you want to test my digestive system, Amma?" 

11 comments:

Me said...

no idea about the wrap..

...dhal quality padu kevalam...taste maha mattam...

& i gave a new clue...i think you can def crack it

Me said...

i think your blogroll needs some pongal cleaning...most of them are dead

Anonymous said...

The Madras Samosa is actually pronounced Samsa. Their shell should be like the shell of spring rolls and the stuffing is more like the masala in poori masala. At least they used to sell them in theatres/bakeries/bus stand in the early 90s. Don't know if they still do.

I have tasted similar ones in a Singaporean restaurant in my part of the town.

Man! I am maha vetti!!

Me said...

i think i know samsas....bite sized samosas..

..desi theater in my area sells that!

Me too said...

me, with my blog itself in 'uyir oosalaading' stage, hoping for resurrection of my blog-pals!!

yaadayaada, welcome and thanks for the comments!! Samsas, huh? Maybe I never went beyond the bondas and puffs back in Madras!

Raju said...

LOL.. A1 question !! :)

(As Yadda mentioned), Madras samosas are the flat triangular shaped ones (compared to the pyramid-shaped Punjabi samosas).. The area of the base triangle is the same, though.. In cinema halls in south TN, they were quite famous in the 80's and early 90's.. I used to love them.. both the crust and the masala inside would be fabulous.. Gosh, i am feeling hungry at this hour thinking of that samosa..

Me said...

Kara bun recipe!

Me too said...

raju, it is/was that famous, huh? Amazed that I hadn't even heard of it!

me, thanks! More than the stuffed ones, I was after this kind.

Me said...

i know ...but i did not land on that recipe...that was close so posted it...

...so how do you make it?

mitr_bayarea said...

Your daughter's question cracked me up...rightly said, these days in the US quality of dals etc. has royally gone down while prices seemt o be on the higher end.

Me too said...

me, therinja bake-u, post-u pottu alattirukka maatten!!

mitr, welcome back!