Chinese Potli (Money-Bags)

Why do I love Indo-Chinese stuff??!!! My first reason is, Soy Sauce… 2nd reason, quick cooking… And 3rd reason, I get to go away from pressure-cooking, tempering, kneading, rolling etc. ;) You know how lazy I am!!!

Recently, I bought a pack of Maggi Noodles from Indian store, which I couldn’t eat more than once… So wanted to use those noodles someway :P Again, taking out my chinese wok from closet is pleasure in itself. Didn’t want to make something like Indian-style noodles so thought of making a mushy noodles mixture with a few veggies! Once I was done making it, I planned to gobble up all. But wasn’t so hungry n that helped me try these ‘Chinese Potli’ ;) Money-bags is what I used to call it when I was a newbie in cooking world.

It’s just my father-in-law who likes anything Indo-Chinese that I cook (apart from I and hubby) so could never make these during my stay there. And my dad… he makes faces when I make noodles :P So, no scope for these cute little money-bags. I so much love this shape itself, so previously I have tried making potato-peas potli (at my home) and mixed sprouts potli (at in-laws). But here, we both love Indo-Chinese food so got to make it!!! ;) And of course, it’s made with no-special ingredients so you must try it out sometime…

INGREDIENTS:

For Dough–

1 cup Plain Flour
1/2 tsp Ajwain (Carom Seeds)
1 tbsp Clarified Butter (Ghee)
Salt, to taste
Water, as required

For Filling–

1 pack Maggi Noodles, boiled
1/2 cup Purple Cabbage, shredded
1-2 tbsp Capsicum, thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp Carrots, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp Ginger-Garlic Paste, freshly made
2 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Hot Chilly Sauce
Black Pepper Powder, to taste
Salt, to taste
2 tsp Oil (Preferrably sesame oil)

Oil, for deep-frying

STEPS TO FOLLOW:

1. Mix plain flour, salt, ajwain and clarified butter together and rub it nicely to form crumbs.
2. Knead a medium-soft dough by adding water gradually as required.
3. Cover with a cling wrap and let it rest for half hour.
4. Heat oil in a wok and add ginger-garlic past and saute for a while.
5. Add carrots, capsicum and cabbage into it along with sauces and spices. Toss quickly.
6. Add noodles into it and mix everything well.
7. Turn off the heat and transfer the mixture to another plate/bowl and cool it down to room temp.
8. Divide the dough in 12-15 equal pieces and roll out to make a small poori in size.
9. Put a tablespoon full of stuffing in center and cover the sides to seal the potli.
10. Heat oil in a deep frying pan and slide 4-5 carefully into it.
11. Deep-dry until golden brown n crisp. Serve hot with ketchup or chutney!!!

SJ’s NOTE:

• I love experimenting with ingredients so I went ahead with maggi noodles. You can get your favorite one too!
• Adjust the amount of spices accordingly to your taste. I can’t handle spicy food, so used a little only :P