This post has been lying in my drafts for a long time. I made these during Diwali (November of last year) and wanted to post them before Diwali but somehow that never happened.
Since I am hardly cooking here in India, (I do bake though and am learning a little from the talented cook my parents have at their house), I thought I should make use of that fact and post recipes that have been pending for a long time.
Mathri or Matthi is a very famous indian tea time snack option in North Indian homes. They are crisp, flaky, buttery biscuits/cookies/crackers, usually salty but can be made sweet as well. The basic mathri is a blend of hot melted ghee, salt and refined flour to which one can add a variety of spices such as ajwain(carom seeds), kalaunji (onion seeds), kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), shahjeera(caraway seeds) and even peppercorn.
Since the world doesn’t seem like it’s ending today, and since the in-laws are at work and the husband is at the dentist, I figured its the best time to sit on the computer and post something on the blog that has been neglected for far too long now. Its been almost two weeks since my last blog post, but with my current schedule of traveling, socializing and erratic net connections, I just haven’t been able to find enough time to devote to the blog.
Today, too, its going to be a quick post. Kind of befitting the recipe that I plan to share. I have, in the past, shared a recipe for homemade puff pastry. And also made mille feuilles and aloo puffswith homemade puff pastry. But, sometimes certain situations arise where your mom invites some guests over and swears there’s store bought puff pastry in the refrigerator and asks you to make the mushroom tarts you constantly rave about, only to see that the puff pastry she so confidently had said sits in the refrigerater is actually a packet of phyllo dough. The phyllo dough is then used to make some channa dal cocktail samosas by one of the three cooks in the house leaving you, the blogger (who your mom has, of course, bragged about to the guests), to think of an alternative way to shine. True story.
Its situations like these that this rough puff pastry comes to your rescue. And you will be pleasantly surprised by the flakiness you can achieve in just a matter of few hours, as opposed to the waiting and turning and folding of actual puff pastry that takes two days to get the desired result. Of course if you want to be all professional about it, the real deal puff pastry is the way to go. But if you are short on time this rough puff pastry recipe is the ticket.
If you have been following me on Facebook, you know today is Day of my gluten free and sugar free diet. If you “like” me on Facebook, I am sorry for the frequent updates (unless, you like these updates then I take back my apology). The reason why I have suddenly become so active on the Novice Housewife’s Facebook page is that if I let everyone know what I am eating, I become accountable and if I am accountable, I am more responsible in the choices I make for my diet and more likely to stick to it. So please bear with me this month with my constant updates. Because I really need to see myself through this diet. It’s not been so difficult so far. Thank god for the internet, google search, pinterest and Foodgawker. Finding gluten free sugar free recipes and making a diet plan has been so much easy because of these.
And thanks to Pinterest I am able to share the recipe I have for you today. I pinned these from “In Sock Monkey Slippers” blog. These beauties have been sitting in my files for a very long time, waiting to be shared with you all. And I am sorry it has taken so long to get to you.
Thinly sliced potatoes cooked with a creamy garlic and thyme cheese and served as individual sized portions. Sign me up for these anytime. They are a little messy to make (the muffin pan requires some clean up but nothing a good soak in hot water and a little muscle power can’t take care of), but the effort is oh so worth it.
