Matthi

Ingredients:

1/2 kg. all purpose flour i.e. maida
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. ajwain
3/4 cup Oil to make dough
whole black peppers
Water to make dough
Oil for frying

Method:

Mix salt and ajwain in the maida. Add oil. Mix the oil well into the flour. Oil should be evenly mixed into the flour. To test if you have added sufficient oil, take some mixture in your hands and close your hands, then open them, mixture should retain the shape.

Actually the main trick in matthi is how much oil to put and how hard the dough is. Now knead it into a hard (it will be so hard that when you roll out a matthi, its edges will crack, if they are smooth like a roti that means your dough is not hard enough) dough by using as little water as possible. The dough too need not look smooth. Now cover it with wet paper towel/cloth. Leave it for 15 minutes. Now make small rounds and roll out into thick matthis. Put some marks on it using a knife (to prevent it from rising like a puri). Insert one or two whole black peppers into the matthis. Deep fry. Enjoy with hot tea.

Note:

You can roll out all the matthis first and then put marks on all of them and then deep fry them in the end together. I believe if you put lots of matthis in the oil together its better. You can also cover your rolled out matthis with wet paper towel/cloth, to prevent them from drying up.

Hints:

If your matthis have not come out to be khasta and are hard to break, you have not put enough oil. Also you need to apply lot of pressure to make rounds and to roll out the matthis as the dough is very hard.

Namak Pare

Method:

Make the dough exactly as above. Make a big round of the size of a thick roti. Roll it out as big as possible. Take a knife and cut it into diamond shaped namak pares by first putting marks from top to bottom 3/4 cm apart all over it parallel to each other and then at an angle. Deep fry.