Luchi - a Bengali recipe

Blogging Marathon Week2 Day 1
The blogging marathon Week 2 is here and Bengali recipes is what I have chosen for the three days of this week. When I did go through the list of options for the Blogging Marathon, the subject Bengali recipes did strike me. Knowing a new cuisine, culture and people is always a wonderful experience. The thought of reading up more on this part of India and knowing what the food of the region is all about was an exciting thought. The more I delve into the delicious world of Bengali recipes, I realize a little more as to why India is known as a land of unity in diversity.

There is so much common to the cultures of the different parts of India yet every region, every state adds its own little twists making it so rich and interesting. The Bengali recipes have so much similarity to a number of other recipes from varied cuisines and still holds a charm of its own that is typically Bengali..guess this is what makes India what it is.

I am enjoying this journey and am sure this is going to open up new horizons and will take me deeper into new lands and cuisines..this is definitely a new beginning, a new journey that promises so much along the way.

For starters I have decided to stick to the very simple and basic recipes. Every step is a step deeper into knowing a new culture, the food and the land. Starting with the popular Luchi or what I so far called the maida puri. The maida puri(one that my daughter likes very much) has been made many times over at home, however, little did I know that this is so much an important part of the Bengali cuisine. Luchi is a deep-fried Indian bread made using maida or all purpose flour. They form an integral part of a typical Bengali meal. Here is how you make the Luchi. Ingredients for Luchi:
Maida(all purpose flour) - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Water - as required for making the dough
Oil - for frying

Method for making Luchi:
1- Take a mixing bowl and add in the maida, salt and sugar. Mix. Now add the ghee and mix well. Add slowly water little by little and make a stiff dough. The dough should be of the texture that you can roll out into smooth luchis. 2- Make small balls of the dough. Take one ball of dough, dip a little in the oil and roll out into an even round of 4 to 5 inches diameter using a rolling pin. 3- Do the same with the remaining balls of dough. 4- Heat oil in a kadai or frying pan. Ensure that the oil is hot enough before you put in the luchi. On putting in the luchi it should come up immediately (this indicates that the oil is hot enough. 5- Fry the individual luchis and take out on to paper towels to remove the excess oil. Serve hot with a curry of your choice.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#22