Irani Samosa And Chai

Hyderabad is famous for it's Irani Cafe's. These Irani Cafe's are famous for their Chai, samosa, biscuits and dill pasand ( a coconut pastry). My husband is born and brought up in Hyderabad. He is very found of this crispy samosa, biscuit and chai. This samosa are became very popular now and we can get them every ware in South India. But the stuffing is little different in Hyderabad I think.

                                                            Not only in Irani cafe's these samosas are very popular as a street food too. You can see street venders carry  these samosas in a huge baskets and sell them in market, bus stands and railway stations. One cycle wala used to come a big basket full of this samosas in our street, my FIL used to by them for his chai. Those days we used to get them four samosas for one rupee, now I don't know how much they are charging for one samosa.

                                         The filling of this samosa is usually Hyderabadi famous payaz ki  sabji, They add some flattened rice (atukulu) to payaz ki sabji to remove the extra moisture. But some people use a combination of cabbage and onion sabji but that is not a traditional filling. But the street hawkers don't make the subji. they mix the raw onion slices with spices and use purana double roti (old bread or bun) to remove the moisture. Means they add old bred pieces to the raw onion and spice mixture and mix with hand nicely to mix well and bread pieces absorb the moisture, but this is little tricky.

                                                                Coming to the Irani chai, Osmania biscuit and chai is very  popular in this cafe. I tried to make this Irani chai at home many times but failed. Till to day I didn't get the word from my husband yes you got the flavor of Irani chai!!!  I have tasted this chai many times but didn't find the recipe. Something special this cafes do to get a different flavor and taste. Yes they keep on boiling the milk in a big vessel. This stove won't turn off for the hole day, they keep on boiling till the milk turns to pink. They serve this chai Kadak (strong) and normal. First you have to ask the person if you want a kadak chai or normal chai. They serve chai in cup and saucer, just pour some chai in to the saucer and sip it with surrrr sound then only you can enjoy the asli Hyderabadi Irani chai... sounds crazy no but that is the way you should have your chai...
                                                                 

                                                 This is my recipe with I for this second week I for Irani samosa and chai. This samosa are well known as Irani samosa, onion samosa, choti samosa.
INGREDIENTS FOR SAMOSA:--
All purpose flour  ---- 3/4 cup
Wheat flour   ----  1/4 cup
Rice flour   ----- 1 tab sp
Salt to taste
Oil   ----  2 tea sp
Oil   --- 1 tea so
Water  ----  1/3 cup
Take all above ingredients except 1 tea sp oil in a mixing bowl add little by little water and make a soft dough. This dough should be a bit hard then chapathi dough.
apply one tea sp oil on dough cover and leave a side for 30 minutes.
FOR FILLING:---
Onions   ----  3 cups sliced
Rice flakes (flattened rice)  --- 1 cup
Cumin seeds  --- 1/2 tea sp
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder ---- 1 tea sp
Chat masala powder  --- 1/2 tea sp
Oil   ---- 1 tea sp
Oil for deep frying
All purpose flour  --- 1 tab sp
Water  --- 2 tab sp

                                                            
METHOD:----
1. Mix 1 tab sp flour and two tab sps of water in a bowl and make paste and set a side.
2. Heat one tea sp oil in a pan add cumin seeds let then crackle then add sliced onions and fry for 4 minutes.
3. Then add reduce the heat and add salt to taste, red chili powder, chat masala and give a good stir and switch off the heat.
4. Now add rice flakes mix well to combine every thing. After few minutes rice flakes absorb all the moisture. Now you filling is ready to make the samosas.
LET'S CHECK HOW TO MAKE THE SAMOSA SHELL:---
1. Make golf size balls out of the dough and roll them as thin as you can, roll in to a circle.
2. Cut the edges to make the circle in to rectangle, then cut the rectangle in to half dust lightly with flour and set a side and do the same process with all the dough.
3. Now heat a pan and place this chapati pieces on the hot pan and cook beach side for 20 seconds. Take care that the rotis didn't change the color just cook to make them dry but still flexible.
Remove the cooked roti pieces and set a side.
4.  Make a cone with a dough strips fill with one spoon full of onion  mixture and apply flour and water paste on the edges and seal with your fingers. Make sure that the filling should not come out.
5. Make all the samosas like this and set a side.
6. Heat oil in a deep frying pan reduce the heat in to medium and drop the samosas one by one slowly and deep fry till golden.
7. Remove from oil and set a side, now heat oil in a high flame once again drop all the samosas in to hot oil and fry for a while and remove.
This step you can do just before you serve. This double frying makes the samosa more crispy.
Serve hot with chai.

FOR CHAI:---
Milk (whole milk)  ---- 4 cups
Water  ---  3 cups
Tea powder  --- 2 tea sp
Cardamom   --- 1
Cinnamon   --- 1 inch piece
Cloves   ---- 2
Ginger   --- 1/2 inch piece (optional)
Condensed milk   ---- 4 tab sp
Sugar to taste (2 tea sp)
METHOD:---
1. Boil the water in a vessel add cardamom, Cinnamon, cloves and ginger piece bring to a full boil in low heat.
2. Add tea powder cover the vessel and reduce the heat to low and boil for 30 minutes so that you get a half cup of decoction, filter the decoction and set a side.
3. In the same time boil the milk in a other pan  till it reduce to 1 and half cup.
4. Now add condensed milk to the boiling milk and mix well.
5. Now add the deciction to the milk mixture mix well. Add sugar if you want more mix well and serve.
Serve in a cup and saucer...
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