Aloo-r Nimki from Maa's kitchen

This past week I was at home, chatting with Baba, Maa, shopping in Gariahat and eating food that evoked memories from my childhood.

You know there was a time when I hated anything that was deep-fried. My favorite meal used to be "sheddho -baat," steamed rice and boiled vegetables with a generous helping of butter and that I could eat even for breakfast. Back then, before leaving for parties, Maa would always remind me, "Ja deoya hobe khabe" that is 'try what ever is served,' and me being the sweet obedient girl that I was, would begrudgingly try the samosas, pakoras and puris which the kakimas would prepare with care and diligence... until one fine day I began to like what I was eating and was doomed for life... :)

In fact when I was full-blown pregnant with my little one, one day I got such a terrible craving for a deep-fried snack that I nagged my mother into making some Aloo-r nimki for us. Since at that point, I was trying to eat healthy, in spite of all her warnings, I remember forcing her to shallow fry the stuff ... just so that it would weigh a little less on my conscience. 

But....that my friends... was such a huge mistake.

That day I learnt it the hard way that one should never ever try to healthify  a pakoda or a  Aloo-r Nimki. They are meant to be oily. They are meant to be sinful. They are meant to be deep-fried. No one in their right minds should ever try to take away their oil (read goodness) from them and transform into lumps of awfulness that he or she will regret long after that "healthy snack" is over.

These indulgent little treats get done and get over in a jiffy. They are excellent for entertaining guests, for brightening up dull and dreary days and for breaking the ice after a heated argument with your partner or the teenager in the house who suddenly feels all grown-up and misunderstood.  Try my mother's time-tested remedy for such situations and let me know if the charm of her Aloo-r Nimkis worked at your house.....

Aloo-r Nimki
Deep-fried golden triangles stuffed with lumpy-mashed potato prepared in the Bengali-style..... 

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Recipe by Urmimala Pal, my mother

Prep time: 45 minutes

Yield: 6 pieces

Ingredients

For the stuffing

• 2 medium sized potatoes, boiled
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 or 2 green chillies, chopped 
• 1 ½ teaspoon oil
• salt to taste

For the crust

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon oil
• pinch of salt
• ⅓ cup water
• Oil for deep frying

Cooking Directions

1. Heat 1 ½ teaspoon of oil in a kadai/wok. Add the sliced onions, chopped ginger and green chillies and cook till the onions soften slightly.
2. Mash the boiled potatoes with your hand and add it to the cooked onions, adjust the salt and cook for 4-5 minutes till the potato filling looks done. Note that the mashed potato does not have to be smooth.
3. Mix the flour, oil and salt. Add the water to it and knead until you have a soft dough. Divide the dough into 6 balls and keep aside for few minutes before you begin to assemble the nimkis.
4. When ready to make the nimkis, roll out the dough balls into a 3 centimeter radius thin disc.
5. Spoon the potato filling in one half of the disc leaving ½ cm along the edge.
6. Fold the top half over it, press the two edges together. Then fold the semi-circle into half to form a triangle and press the dough at the lower end of the triangle and keep aside in a tray lined with parchment paper.
7. Repeat the process with the remaining dough till all the nimkis are rolled, filled and shaped like a triangle.
8. Now heat enough oil in a kadai for deep frying. To check if the oil is hot enough, drop a small piece of dough in it; if it sizzles right away and gradually floats up to the surface then the oil is ready for frying.
9. Turning the heat to medium low, carefully place the stuffed nimkis in the oil. Do not overcrowd, few at a time.
10. Turn them and fry the nimkis for about 5 minutes on either side. Once they look golden brown on both sides, lift them with a slotted spoon and keep aside until you have fried the whole lot.

The nimkis are now ready to be served.

Other munchies from our kitchen that you may like...

Clockwise with from top : Nariyal Samosa, Palak Pakoda, Goli Bajje, Beer Battered Pakoda, Medu Vada