Gharge or Pumpkin Pooris

For me the holy month of Shravan means cooking a plethora of Pathare Prabhu foods offered to the gods.  People celebrate in different ways, preparing repasts fit for kings as well as pauper's plates. My thali falls somewhere in between. For want of fresh banana leaves, I use a stainless thali. The silver is polished and buffed for Ganpati or Ganesh Puja. 

My Monday thalis are the buildup to the Ganpati meal. Most platings have a fresh green chutney, a raita, a subji or two, some lentils like whole green moong or chauli, rice and varan, cooked toor dal smothered in ghee, a coconut sambare or curry, dessert in the form of halva, shrikhand, umbar, and a bhajia or fried vegetable. Four Monday thalis allows me to cook the gamut and not repeat items. Not quite adhering to old customs, I bend and weave the rules. What counts is the offering I make.

In my mum's and grandmum's days, we fasted all day. Not quite the definition as you read it, their fast meant eating limited quantities of potatoes, spiced buttermilk or taak, and an odd variety of rice called vari-che-tandul. So rumbling stomachs were not an issue. Here, I tend to eat fruit all day and serve an early meal, as that rumbling is omnipresent! 

Gharge are pooris made with pumpkin puree, a little sugar and salt, mixed with whole wheat chapati flour. I use regular pumpkin. Steam pumpkin cubes. Once cool, smoosh them till they are smooth. Season with sugar and salt. Gradually add the wheat flour. The dough should be pliable, until you have a soft, shaggy dough. Dust your fingers and the counter generously with flour.  Pat lime sized balls on a floured surface. The poori should be one-fifth inch thick. Since the dough is soft, patting is easily done. Fry the pooris in hot oil till dappled with golden brown specks. These are delicious bites, flecked with pumpkin puree, not too sweet at all. Not an everyday indulgence, gharge grace my table just once a year.


GHARGE OR PUMPKIN POORIS
Makes 10-15


2 cups Pumpkin, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2-3 cups Whole Wheat Chapati Flour plus extra flour for rolling and patting dough
Canola Oil for frying


Steam the pumpkin cubes till soft. 

Transfer cubes to a large bowl.

Mash the cubes till smooth and pureed. Cool pumpkin.

Season pumpkin with sugar and salt.

Start the dough by adding 2 cups of flour to the puree and kneading to mix. Use your hands. Add a little more at a time kneading the dough till it is soft but comes together loosely. You should have a soft, shaggy dough.  Refrigerate the dough for 1/2 hour. It firms up the dough, making it easier to handle.

Start making the pooris by scooping up a lime-sized ball of dough. The ball of dough should be able to hold its shape when rolled in flour. Make a few balls and then proceed to pat them out.

Dust the counter well with flour. Place a ball on the floured surface and pat the dough gently with your fingers, to form a round shape. The shape isn't that important. Mine are disastrous. The poori should be 1/5 inch thick. If you have the counter space, pat out the pooris before you fry them. If not, pat a few at a time. If you have many balls formed, the process will flow easier.

Heat 2 cups of oil in a deep frying pan over medium high heat. Test the oil with a bit of dough. The dough should spring to the surface immediately. Slide a poori in. Fry on one side for a minute or two, then flip and fry the other side. The poori will puff as it fries. You should see it change color as it cooks. Drain on a wire rack. Dont worry if the pooris deflate. They still taste great!


If you haven't rolled out all the dough, it will keep for a day in the fridge. 

Serve pooris hot.

The gharge fulfill the fried requirement adequately. I keep half the dough for the next day so we have double the pleasure. Then the plan is to see them next year!      

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