Tootaks from Hyderabadi
cuisine, a tale in crispy semolina pastry n herbal spicy vegetable filling
I first thought of making ‘Tootaks’ when I stumbled upon them inside a book n they were all over the
place. They had this unusual shape which reminded me of ‘Modaks’ which comes
from the neighboring state of ‘Maharashtra’ which are sweet, still they were a
bit different. The top part of them were rounded, unlike modak not pointed, the
lower half were oval that made them look like a traditional water pot ‘Ghati’. Their color was subdued with a slight touch of
yellow ochre n it reminded me of the color of the beach. This is how I was
seduced.
The name is quite interesting ‘Tootak’ , saying their name
twice gets me to the famous Indian song ‘Tootak tootak tootiyan’ but they are
far from the song. Their name derives
from the Indian Hindi phrase ‘Tu Takta Reh Jaye Ga’ which will mean ‘you will
be left astounding or gaping’- look at the first two words of the Hindi phrase
‘Tu Tak-ta’, so casually we can imagine tu-tak or tootak will suggest ‘you
astound’- cool eh! So they belong to
Hyderabadi cuisine/ Deccani cuisine in its origin, a signature dish of the
local Hindu Kayastha community people.
By structure a tootak has two parts, the outside shell,
crispy, still little soft inside-that is semolina pastry treated with ghee,
milk n spices and the inside filling which is traditionally made from mutton mince
flavored with onions, garlic, ginger, coriander, green chilies, lemon juice .
In my version I create a spicy amazing vegetable filing with carrots,
coriander, barbatti, onion, garlic, ginger, shahi jeera, black sesame seed,
green capsicum, jalapenos, tomato, yogurt, coconut pieces, lime juice n mint
leaves.
What
I really like the most is how the semolina which is sooji or rawa in Indian
terms is treated to make the dough which runs almost in similar lines of creating
a short crust pastry but still uniquely different. The semolina is rubbed with
chilled ghee n a spice mixture until it feels like wet sand and just hold together,
this mixture is put to rest for 30 minutes in the refrigerator, then it is
kneaded with milk until it becomes a medium soft dough, which further rests for
15 minutes and then they are shaped with the filling inside.
I love the flavor of the
black sesame seeds, so in my version of tootaks I included them in the
game both to give a depth of flavor and to create an interesting playful look
for them and they looked so cool at the end of baking. Oh yes! These beauties
are baked in the oven –not deep fried- so now there is one more reason for you
to make them. So let’s get the hands dirty, shall we?
So now I will straightway take you to the recipe, let’s have
a roll.
For The Recipe: You will need
Makes 12-14 Tootaks
For
the Semolina Shell:
Semolina/Sooji/Rawa-
2 cups
Ghee
(clarified butter) - 4 tbsp, chilled
Salt-
¾ tsp
Sugar-
1 tsp, powdered
Milk-
½ cup approximately
Black
pepper- 1 tsp, crushed n powdered
Black
cumin seeds (Shahi Jeera) - ½ tsp- slightly roasted n
powdered
Green
cardamom- 2, lightly roasted n powdered
Clove-
1, slightly roasted n powdered
For
the Filling:
Carrot-
1 medium, shredded
Barbatti/Yard
long Bean- 2, finely sliced
Onion-
1 medium, finely chopped
Green
chilies-3/4 – finely chopped
Green
capsicum- 2 tbsp, finely chopped
Coriander
leaves n stalks- 2-3tbsp, finely chopped
Jalapenos-
2 tbsp, chopped
Ginger-
½ inch, minced
Garlic-
2 medium cloves, minced
Mint
leaves, fresh or dry-1 tbsp
Shahi
jeera- ½ tsp
Black
sesame seed- 1 tbsp
Fresh
coconut- 2 tbsp, chopped into ¼ inch pieces
Yogurt-
1 tbsp, whisked
Tomato-1/2
of a medium tomato, chopped
Black
pepper- ½ tsp, freshly crushed
Salt
Pink
rock salt- a pinch
Sugar-
2 pinches
Red
chili powder-1/4 tsp
Turmeric-
1 pinch
Vegetable
oil- 2 tbsp
Pre-heat oven to 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit.
1.
Let’s start by making the dough, for that put the ghee in the refrigerator for
15-20 minutes to chill it, then mix the semolina with salt, sugar, ground black
pepper, the crushed spices n then add the chilled ghee n rub it in with soft
hands using your fingertips, this will take about 5- 7minutes, and the mixture
will resemble wet sand and the mixture will hold together when you press it
lightly between your palms. If this doesn’t not happen nothing to worry, add a
little more chilled ghee like ½ tsp and 1 tsp of water, rub
it in with soft hands n you will see the mixture will just hold together when
you press it lightly. At this point cover it with Clingfilm, rest it in the
refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2.
Now for the filling, put a frying pan on medium heat and heat the oil moderately,
add the shahi jeera and black sesame seeds, when they sputter, add the shredded
carrot, chopped barbatti beans, green chilies, coriander stalks, toss them,
give them 1 minute on medium high heat, then add the ginger n garlic mince,
mix, give them 30 seconds, then add onion, green capsicum, tomato, coconut
pieces, coriander leaves n mix it all in. Now on medium high flame stir-fry
them, we want them to caramelize a bit, so keeping the flame on medium high is
important and stir them every 30 seconds so they don’t burn, give them 5
minutes like this, stir often. After that reduce the heat to low, add a pinch
of sugar, pink rock salt, then add salt,
red chili powder , turmeric, add a touch of water so that the spices don’t
burn, mix it all in, on the lowest flame give them 5-6 minutes. Then take the
pan away from the heat for a moment, add the whisked yogurt n mix well, put the
pan back on low heat and add the jalapenos, mint leaves, give them about 3-5
minutes until the whole mixture dries up. There will a lot of brown bits in the
bottom, they will add amazing flavor, so dash a little water on the bottom and
scratch with the spatula to mix them all in, let the whole mixture dry again
and we are almost done, lastly add the lime juice, adjust the seasoning n add the
black pepper powder. Take the mixture off the pan on a plate, let it cool.
3.
After 30 minutes take the semolina mixture out and add a little milk n knead to
mix in it, then add some more n knead, then add the rest and start kneading the
dough until you get a dough which leaves sides of the vessel n comes together,
knead for about 5-7 minutes and you will have a medium soft dough. Test the
dough by making a small ball and shaping it like tootak without any crack, if
you can do that you are done. Cover n rest for 15 minutes.
4.
Now take a big lime size ball of dough in your hands n roll it between your palms
with a soft hand to make a smooth ball, then flatten the ball by pressing it
between your palm, now put your thumb in the middle n make a depression, lightly
make that depression into a round shape, then with soft hands press all around
that as you give it the shape of a small bowl, pressing down to give an uniform
thickness as you go around. Then fill the bowl with 1 tsp of filling, press it
lightly, then fold the sides and the top to seal the filling n bring the both
the sides to the top with light hand, give that part a conical shape, then with
one finger press on it to give it rounded shape. Hold the tootak, roll it by
keeping it on your palm to give a flat bottom, the middle will be oval rounded
and at the top it will be conical rounded. That’s all. Prepare all the tootaks
like this.
5.
Pre-heat the oven to 160 Celsius/325 Fahrenheit, brush all the tootaks lightly with vegetable
oil with your fingers or a brush, now scatter black sesame seeds on a flat
surface. Take one tootak and make it sit on the seeds pressing it lightly, the
seeds will stick to the base, then tilt the tootak and roll it lightly on the
seeds on its sides, now hold the tootak upside down and press the top lightly
again on the seeds, then make it straight and place them on a baking sheet. So
at the end the tootak will have a sesame seed base, a rim of black sesame seeds
n the top with some seeds, prepare all like this.
6.
Place them in the oven, bake them for 15-25 minutes until they looks dry and
when you tap them with your nail it feels hard, not soft like before, now put
the top grill on in your oven and give them around 5 minutes until they just
start to get color. I increased the temperature to 180 Celsius/350 F while
doing this. In this point you have to careful, watch them, as they get slightly
brown they are ready. Take them out n give them 10 minutes to cool, then put
them on a wire rack to cool further. Eat them while they are warm n even cold.
So now munch on and share it with everybody, spread the tootaks
everywhere. Bon Appétit!
