Home Cooking Channel: Upload your video and recipe

Narayanjot Kaur · #1 (**permalink**) 24-Aug-2010, 10:33 AM

Respected forum members

Here is a thread just for fun, and maybe good meals too!

This is a place where you can upload a video of you, or a family member or friend preparing Bessan Poora, a kind of Indian pancake. See photo.

Before we get started, here are some tips.

The video in the next post was captured by cell phone. A fancy video system is not needed to proceed. You next send the video as an email attachment from you phone to your email address, or use bluetooth. But either way the video can be saved to your computer.
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/cooking-and-recipies/31975-home-cooking-channel-upload-your-video.html

The next step is to upload the video to YouTube, Google videos, or any other video sharing site. I uploaded the video to YouTube. It was very easy to do.

You will need to create personal account. On YouTube I am listed as daasseven.
Sign in.
Find the link to Upload a video. Then follow the prompts for uploading a video. Usually you will need to provide a title and a short description.
On YouTube you are also asked whether you want the video to be listed as Public (everyone in the world can see it), Moderated (you control who can see it by providing a link to a chosen group), or Private (only those individuals who are given permission can view the video).
This video was listed as Moderated as a privacy measure. I recommend that you use a setting by which the video cannot be downloaded by just anyone and used for their own purposes.
The video share site should also provide space for you to write a description of what is happening in the clip.

Narayanjot Kaur · #2 (**permalink**) 24-Aug-2010, 10:35 AM

YouTube- Brahm makes poora for a sea-side breakfast!

This is Brahm, who I call my husband's "true" friend, making poora for breakfast. We are at the shore at a vacation apartment. In the background you can hear my husband asking Brahm how to do it. And Brahm is giving the basic story. :happykaur:

Brahm and his family are strict vegetarians, and do not even eat eggs. Poora is the perfect breakfast because it is like an Indian pancake without eggs, but it retains the richness of eggs nonetheless. This version is made with chickpea or lentil flour.

Brahm used only salt, red pepper powder, onions chopped very fine, and halapeno pepper also chopped very fine. We had no mango powder, so we did without. I had only lentil flour/bessam on hand and that worked out just as well as chickpea or channa flour.

Though Brahm is giving a very simple version of how to make poora, his nephews, Virpul and Varun, who were at the beach at the time, on their return, took over the kitchen. When they did, the recipe became more laden with wonderful spices.

Because Brahm is a heart healthy eater, he is cooking with olive oil rather than ghee.

The night before Virpul and Varun made an Indian dinner of maki roti, saag, raj rice, channa dal, and of course we had mango lassis as our aperitif. These two are great cooks, and they can even make idlis, though they live in New Delhi. Their family originates from before the partition from West Punjab, now in Pakistan.

Imagine living at their house. Virpul and Varun are staying with their chacha and their grandmother and grandfather while they go to school in the US. Everyone in the family can cook up a storm.

Basic recipe for poora

Ingredients (These are approximate amounts)

1 cup Besan (also called chana flour, chick pea flour or garbanzo bean flour)
¼ tsp (teaspoon) ginger powder or ½ tsp fresh chopped ginger chopped fine
¼ tsp black pepper
red pepper powder to taste
Chopped hot pepper (optional) using chile or halapenos
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31975
½ cup chopped onions cut very fine
¼ cup chopped Cilantro leaves
¼ tsp crushed coriander seeds or ground coriander powder
Reference:: Sikh Philosophy Network http://www.sikhphilosophy.net/showthread.php?t=31975
¾ tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp (tablespoon) olive oil
2 cups water

Pour the flour in a bowl. Add ½ cup of water first. Stir continuously. A wire whisk works well. Keep adding water gradually until the batter is the consistency of pancake batter. It should be smooth and not lumpy.

Heat your griddle on medium heat. Spread 1-2 tsp of olive oil over the surface of the griddle. Stir the batter every time you spoon it out. Spoon about 1/3 cup batter for each pancake. The edges of the pancakes should be crispy when done.

My note: I have adapted the recipe from this site because I don't agree with it completely: http://www.physiology.wisc.edu/ravi/.../recipe13.html

The batter should be the consistency of a pancake batter. Use the back of a spoon to spread the batter around into a circular shape on the griddle. When bubbles appear on the top surface, it is time to flip the poora and cook the other side. Adding a little oil around the sides of the poora makes it easier to turn and lift.