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PF Changs Lettuce wraps

Original Source:
https://damndelicious.net/2014/05/30/pf-changs-chicken-lettuce-wraps/

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha, optional
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, drained and diced
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 head butter lettuce

Method:

1. Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Add ground chicken and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
2. Stir in garlic, onion, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and Sriracha until onions have become translucent, about 1-2 minutes.
3. Stir in chestnuts and green onions until tender, about 1-2 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. To serve, spoon several tablespoons of the chicken mixture into the center of a lettuce leaf, taco-style.

Kulithache Pithle

Kulith is a grain/ lentil that is either eaten in its seed version (soaked and sprouted) or it is finely ground to powder and consumed like a dal or a soup. It can also be made into zunka and eaten with bhakri. It may have more history to it than what I know. My mom made this as a comfort food with rice and I got hooked on to it when I last visited Ratnagiri with Maya. 
I came back with 2 big packets of Kulith peeth and plans to make a lot of it when I miss Bombay. I knew Rob wasn't a fan so I wanted an audience who would appreciate it. And of course, akanksha (AK) is the closest buddy whose taste buds would agree with the konkani pithle. 

We made it together when I visited her for an overnight experience without having Maya around. We both planned to make it often so we would not forget it. So many times I wanted to write down the recipe ever since my mom said it was the "easiest" thing to make. But proportions matter, ingredients matter, timings matter. And making it often matters, so it becomes a habit. One rainy afternoon, she texted me - Send or record the recipe for pithle! and the force doubled. In between other priorities, this recipe got written. Here we go.


(Serves 5 people at once or 2 people with leftovers :)

Ingredients: 
1 cup Kulith Peeth
2-3 glasses of lukewarm water or a jug of water to pour from easily.
Red Chilli powder
Kokam (A necessary ingredient which we almost forgot if AK hadn't reminded me!)
1 big onion finely chooped
4-6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Kadipatta 4-5 leaves
Kothimbir finely chopped
Salt
Oil


Mise en place (French pronunciation: ​[mi zɑ̃ ˈplas]) is a French culinary phrase which means "putting in place" or "everything in its place."
Learnt it from Skyelar, but this term is Very important for this recipe. Have everything ready before you turn the gas on.

Method:
In a medium sized bowl, mix 1 cup Kulith peeth, lal tikhat, salt, and slowly add water and using your fingers blend in everything and smash any knots you may find. It will be very liquidy but fear not, it will thicken. Keep it aside.
Mise en place all ingredients, ready to be used. 
Turn the gas on. Add oil and let it heat over medium high gas. Once it is heated, add kadipatta, wait a minute and add lasun and wait a minute kokam. Then add Kanda and stir for 3-4 minutes.
Once Kanda and lasun aroma spreads around it is show time. Start pouring in the Kulith liquid mixture into the pot while stirring the pot.

Now it is time for judgement call. You will have to make the call of how thick you want the pithle to be. Once it starts to thicken, add more water and let it cook for 10-15 minutes. Once again, you will smell the delicious aroma. If you added more water, compensate it with lal tikhat and salt.

Kulith Pithle, Kobichi bhaaji and rice and the chips!

Hope you are stirring it continuously. AK was! She stirred the hell out of it and also tasted it, so we could adjust the condiments.
After you add the Kulith pith liquid, it should be done in maximum 20 minutes. The thickness is in between dal and zhunka. You'll know it.

Sprinkle fresh kothimbir and serve it with hot rice and lonche or papad (or avacado chilli chips as AK had them)
I love eating the whole garlic pieces fried in oil and coated with pithle. 
Mouth watering heaven. Enjoy!