I believe you have to leave your space, your comfort zone to truly appreciate the beauty that was always in front of you. It’s for this same reason that I walk into an old kitchen, full of dusty pots and pans, broken buckets and see promise not ruin. It takes work to cultivate and breathe life into four walls but walls are also strong on their own. We build them to be that way. We create a foundation and trust that it will stand.
These words mean many things to me right now. They relate to people, places objects and values. I have been working a lot on fear lately, knowing that it’s a shitty way to live. Whenever I feel like I can’t do something, I push myself to do it anyway. If someone else tells me I can’t, that’s when I start to doubt myself. I hope that I can work through listening more to me and less to others, but not in a non-productive way. I want to be able to change minds, collaborate, create and just be calm. I started the year breaking all of the above and I wasn’t happy about it. But what’s a new day but a chance to try again and get it right. Embrace your mistakes (I’m telling myself this), be yourself and just give yourself room to screw up. If you have your feet firmly planted on the ground and have the walls to withstand the beast, you’ll be just fine.
I hope you find something you cherish and see it through to the next step no matter what.
Goa sausage (choris) flatbread
Notes:
- Choris pao (“cho-rees pav” sausage bread) is a very popular street food here in Goa. The bread (white bread) is always made locally. The locals always know the best place for you to eat this bread so ask around if you ever visit. It’s usually a small roadside shop that opens in the evening right when people are coming home from work. The sausage is made from pork and it’s fatty, full of vinegar and spice. While it does look spicy because of its bright red colour, it is not overwhelming and the flavours are perfectly balanced.
- The flours I used are specific to India and the ingredients may require you to go out of your way. You can always try your Indian grocery store if you’re in the US or online. I have provided the local names for the flours in parenthesis. If you just want to go the bread flour way like I did in my last pizza dough recipe, you can do this by clicking here.
- If you’re using cheese I recommend feta or sharp cheddar.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 70 gms (½ cup) durum wheat flour (atta)
- 70 gms (½ cup) bleached wheat flour (maida)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup warm water (not more than 115 degrees F)
- A pinch of sugar (1/4 tsp)
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
Mix the flours, salt and olive oil together in a bowl. Add sugar to the bowl of warm water and stir to dissolve. Sprinkle the yeast into the bowl. Let it sit until the yeast dissolves and foams up. If your yeast doesn’t foam, then it’s time to buy new yeast. Add the warm water to the flour mixture and using your hands, mix them together until a dough forms. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes and them cover the bowl with a damp tea towel. Place the bowl in the fridge overnight or for 12 hours.
Take the dough out of the bowl and flour your working space. Place the dough on the counter and cover it loosely with plastic wrap. Let it sit for an hour.
Once it has rested, remove the plastic wrap and flour your hands before you start shaping it into the flatbread. If the dough has risen (and it will, especially if it’s really warm where you are), punch out all the air. Oil a baking sheet or pizza pan and flatten your dough on to it. Use your fingertips to spread the dough evenly, making the outer circumference of the bread a little thicker than the rest of it. Cover and keep it ready for all the toppings.
For the toppings
- 1 heaping cup Goa choris
- ½ cup cooked kidney beans
- ½ cup boiled potato, diced
- ½ cup red onions, diced
Heat the oven to 400 degrees F (200.4 degrees C).
Remove the choris from the casing it comes in and cook it in a frying pan for 5 minutes. Save 1 tbsp of the choris grease and drain the rest of it using a colander and put the choris in a bowl. Add the rest of the toppings in with the choris and toss gently with the grease so it all absorbs the flavour.
Spread the toppings evenly on top of the dough.
Place the baking sheet with the flatbread into the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the edges of the crust turn light brown.
Remove the bread from the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before slicing. The toppings don’t stick on top of the dough very firmly so I recommend using a pair of kitchen scissors to cut through the bread.
