Onion Pakoras

A very basic recipe for some fried Pakoras. I gravitate to baking these but an occasionally it's good to have the original fried version too.

Ingredients:
Onions - 2 big
Green Chilis - 2
Peanuts - a Handful
cilantro - a handful
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Gram Flour/Besan - 1/2 cup

Oil to Deep Fry
Slice the Onion into long thin strips and chop the chilis and cilantro. Mix all the ingredients except Gram Flour. The onions will start releasing some water. Add the Gram Flour little by little. There should be barely enough to coat and the onions should be the star. There should not be clumps of Flour. This will ensure that the Pakoras are crispy and not soggy after they cool a bit.

Heat a frying pan with oil on medium high. Once the oil is hot enough, use your hand or spoon to slowly distribute the mixture into the oil. Do not add in clumps but just randomly distribute into the oil. Fry until golden and remove onto a paper towel to absorb any extra oil.

Serve hot with sauce of your choice.

Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:
Peanuts - 1 Cup
Green Chilis - 6 to 8 (depending on how hot you like the chutney)
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic Clove - 1
Salt - to taste
Tamarind Paste - 1 tsp

Tempering:
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1
Chana daal - 1 tbsp
Garlic clove - 1
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Dry fry the peanuts and grind with the rest of the ingredients, adding water as you go. Use water based on how thick you want the consistency of the chutney to be.
Temper with Mustard Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Crushed Garlic Clove, broken Red Clili, Chana Daal and Curry leaves.

Rice crackers/Chekkalu

Rice Flour - 1 1/2 cups
AP Flour/Maida - 1/2 cup
Ginger - 1 inch
Green Chilis - 5
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Chana daal - 1/4 cup
Curry leaves(torn) - few
Peanuts - handful
Butter - 2 tbsp
Oil - for frying

Grind the ginger and green chilis with some water. Soak the chana daal in some water for 1/2 hr. Break the peanuts into smaller pieces. Mix all the ingredients well except the oil. This should form a soft dough.
Spray some non-stick spray or add a few drops of oil on a plastic sheet or a large ziploc bag. Form gooseberry sized balls for the dough and place on one side of the plastic bag, fold over the other end and press to form flat discs. Alternately use your hands to do this. Heat a heavy bottom pan with oil and fry them until golden brown. Drain, cool and store in an air-tight container.

If you mix the dough to the right consistency and fry at the right temperature, they do not absorb more than a few tbsps of oil.

Gavvalu

AP Flour/Maida - 2 cups
Salt - a pinch
Butter/Ghee - 2 tbsp
Sugar - 1 1/2 cups
Water - 3/4 cup + water to knead the dough
Oil - for frying

Mix the maida with salt and melted butter. Knead with water, to form a soft dough. Make chickpea sized balls of the dough and press on the end of a fork. Roll out the dough, to form the shape of the gavva. Alternately, if you have the wooden block to make these, use the block. The fork method work great here. I could not take pictures during this step. Heat a deep bottomed pan with oil and fry them. Make these gavvas ahead and cover with a damp cloth. I tried making some while the rest were frying, but it was a stretch. Fry them and set aside. In another pan, heat the sugar with 3/4 cup water and mix till the sugar dissolves. Cook till the mixture thickens and reaches a 1 string consistency. When you touch the solution with your fingers, a sting should form. Else, add a few drops of this solution to a bowl filled with water, and it should hold its shape.
Pour this solution on the fried gavvas and mix well. When the coating starts to harden and turn white, mix again. Stir once every 5 mins, till they are completely cooled down. This will ensure that they do not lump together. Store in an air tight container when they are completely cool.

Fried Indian Fritters: Potato and Mirchi Bajjis

This is a perfect snack for those chilly rainy evenings. Goes well with a cup of steaming masala chai.

Potatoes - 2

Big Green Chilis - 5 - Mild ones that are lighter in color

Oil - for deep fry

Batter for the Fritters:

Gram Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Carrom Seeds/Ajwain - 1 tsp

Red Chili powder - 1 tsp

salt - to taste

Baking Soda - 1 pinch

Water - required amount

Stuffing for Chilis:

Potatoes - 2 medium
Onion - 1/2 Red chopped fine
Ginger grated - 1 tsp
Green chili - 2 chopped fine
Citantro - few sprigs chopped
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Amchur powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Shajeera - 1 tsp

Toppings:
Red Onion - 1/2
Cilantro - chopped
Amchur powder/Lime Juice

Boil the potatoes until soft, peel and mash.
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil, add shajeera, and the onions and green chilis. Cook till soft, add the potatoes. Mix the rest of the masalas and salt. Add the cilantro and cool.

Mix all the ingredients for batter.

Slit the green chilis and stuff with the potato mix. Peel and slice the potatoes into thin slices.
Heat a frying pan with oil to deep fry. Dip the chilis and potatoes into the batter and deep fry.

Slit the chilis and add the onions, cilantro and sprinkle with the amchur powder or squeeze some lime.

Serve hot with Masala chai.

Guddu Iguru - Egg Curry

Ingredients:
Eggs - 6
Onions - 2 big
Green Chilis - 2
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tbsp
Chicken/Garam Masala  - 1.5 tsp

Boil and peep the eggs. Chop the onions and green chilis very fine.
In a pan, add the oil and season with Mustard and Cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add the onions and green chilis. Add the salt and cook till the onions start to brown.
Add all the spices and cook till the raw smell disappears. Add half a cup of water and cook till all the water evaporates. Cut the eggs into half and lay cut side down into the curry.

Gently mix and serve with rice and rasam.

Shredded Mixed Veg Fry

I love my new food processor, and this is one of my favorite dishes to make using the processor. The cabbage and the carrots are shredded really thin. The best part is, greens like spinach, parsley or cilantro are chopped really fine, without turning into a mush. 

Onion - 1 small

Green chilis - 5 to 6 (More if you like heat)

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic cloves - 4 

Cabbage - 1/2 head

Carrots - 3 medium

Capsicum - 1

Spinach leaves - 3 cups

Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Shred all the vegetables in a food processor or with hand. In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the cumin seeds.

Add the sliced onions, green chilis, garlic and ginger. When the onions are soft, add all the other shredded vegetables, and fry till soft. Add salt, and fry till the veggies are cooked through. 

This dish tastes good as a stuffing for wraps, sandwiches or with rotis.

Bell Pepper Masala

What do you do when you open the refrigerator and all you find is 2 bell peppers, a big tomato and a bag of spinach? Green rice and bell pepper gravy of course. I did not any onions either, but nobody knew the difference. I pureed the tomato with some coconut, a few peanuts and some poppy seeds. It's a very simple and a quick meal. Perfect for last minute guests who drop in without notice. They would think you slogged in the kitchen for hours. 

Bell Pepper masala:

Bell Peppers (Green/Red) - 2

Tomatoes - 2 small

Peanuts - 1/4 cup

Coconut powder/grated - 3 tbsp

Poppy seeds - 1 tbsp (optional)

Red chili powder - 1 tbsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - 1 tbsp

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Dice the bell peppers into 1 inch pieces. In a pan, add the oil and cumin seeds. When they splutter, add the bell peppers and fry till soft. In a smaller pan, dry fry the poppy seeds, coconut and peanuts. Powder these in a mixie jar. To the same jar, add the ginger garlic paste, salt, chili powder, garam masala and the tomatoes. Puree them and add to the pan with the bell peppers. Cook till the gravy is cooked through and it thickens. Serve with rice or rotis.

The recipe for the green rice is from my blog. I just skipped the onions and added 1/2 cup frozen peas.

Poornalu - Stuffed sweet dumplings

Poornalu are a traditional sweet lentil stuffing, dipped in batter and deep fried. They were a festival staple, and I have never seen them being made any other time. I am not a fan of the sweet stuff, but I love the savory outer coating. When I was younger, I would eat the crispy outer coating, and give the filling to my mom. The filling is similar to the one we use for poli.

For the filling: 

Channa Daal - 1 cup

Jaggery - 1 cup

Cardamom - 1 pinch

Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup

For the coating:

Raw rice - 2 cups

Urad daal - 1 cup

Salt - 1 tsp

Canola/Vegetable/Sun flower Oil - to deep fry

Soak the channa daal for 4 hrs. Drain and set aside. In a vessel that fits in a pressure cooker, add the daal and 1/2 cup water. Cook for 4 to 5 whistles. Remove and cool.

When the daal cools, mash it. Add the grated jaggery and coconut. In a pan, add this mixture and cook on medium flame. This will become runny as the jaggery melts, but will solidify after a while. When the mixture is thick, turn off and cool.

Soak the rice and daal for about 6 hrs. Grind with water. This should be thicker than the consistency of dosa batter. When a ball of filling is placed in the batter, it should not sink to the bottom.

Make rounds of the filling, golf ball sized. Dip these in the coating.

Heat a pan with oil and when it is hot, drop these balls and fry on medium high, until golden brown. Drain onto a paper towel and serve hot.

Chakkara Pongal

Chakkara Pongal is my aunt's special dish. This is her recipe:

Rice - 1 cup

Moong daal - 1/4 cup

Water - 4 cups

Grated Jaggery - 2 cups

Cardamom powder - a pinch

Ghee - 1/2 cup

Raisins and Cashews - 2 tbsps each to garnish

In a pressure cooker, add the daal, rice and water. Cook for 3 to 4 whistles and turn off.

In an other pan, add the grated jaggery and 1/2 cup water. Let this mixture melt and come to a boil. Cook for about 10 minutes. When a drop of this is added to some water, it should remain in place and not spread in the water.

Open the cooker, and mash the rice and daal. Pour the jaggery mixture into the rice and daal.

If it is too runny, place on stove top and cook till it thickens. If if is too thick, add some milk and coook some more.

In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the cashews and raisins, till the raisins plump up and the cashews are golden brown. Add this to the pongal, and add the cardamom powder.

Mix well, and serve hot.

Tomato baath/Upma

Sooji/Rawa - 1 cup
Onion - 1
Green Chili - 4
Tomatoes - 3
Potato - 1 big
Ginger - 1 inch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin and mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig'
Cashews broken - 3 to 4
Salt - to taste
Water - 3 cups

Chop the onions, tomatoes, ginger and green chilis. Peel and dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces.
In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the cumin and mustard seeds. Add the curry leaves and cashews.
Add the onions, chilis, ginger and saute till the onions are soft. Add the potatoes and stir fry till half done. Add the tomatoes and salt. Cook till soft and pour the water. When he water starts to boil, reduce heat and stir in the sooji slowly, stirring all the time, to avoid any lumps. Close and turn off the heat in a couple minutes.
Serve with chutney or sambar.

Multi bean and grain Adai

This adai/dosa is really rich in protein and tastes good too. I used Usal mix from the Indian store. Any kind of a bean mix can be used here.



Usal Mix - 1 cup
Boiled Rice - 1 cup
Urad daal - 1/2 cup
Chana daal - 1/4 cup
Toor daal - 1/4 cup
Red chilis - 8
Salt - to taste
Ginger - 1 1/2 inch
Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
Cilantro - 1 handful

Soak the daals, beans and rice for 3 to 4 hrs. Grind with the rest of the ingredients and water. The consistency should look like a thick dosa batter.
Adai takes a little longer to cook than a regular dosa.

Kozhi Varuval

Skinless chicken legs - 5
Oil - 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 2 sprigs
Onions -2
Green Chilis - 4
Ginger garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp
Red Chili powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tbsp
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Chicken Masala - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Cilantro  - to garnish
Lime - 1/2

Marinate the chicken legs with half of the turmeric, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder and salt.
Chop the onions and green chilis.
In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and add the curry leaves.
Add the onions, green chilis, ginger garlic paste and fry till golden brown.
Add the chicken, remaining turmeric powder, red chili powder, salt, chicken masala and black pepper. Cover and cook till crispy on the outside and cooked all the way through.
Squeeze the lime and garnish with cilantro.

Instant Rawa Dosa

We love dosas, but sometimes when we crave them, there is no batter at home to make them. This instant rawa dosa comes to my rescue everytime. The funny thing about the batter is, it seems to never end. After making a few of them, the batter gets thick, and I add water to dilute it. We almost get twice the amount of dosas with the same amount of the regular dosa batter.

Roasted Sooji/Rawa - 1 cup
Rice Flour - 1 cup
All Purpose Flour - 1/3 cup
Grated Carrots - 2
Black Pepper - 1 tsp
Chopped Green Chilis - 3
Salt - to taste
Chopped Cilantro - few sprigs
Chopped Ginger - 1 inch

Mix all the ingredients with water. The batter consistency should be thinner than the regular dosa batter. Almost like buttermilk.
Heat a tawa and sprinkle the batter on the pan, covering the pan and forming a round.
The rawa dosa batter will not spread like a regular batter.
There will be holes in the dosa and will take longer to cook. Add oil around the dosa if you desire.
When the dosa is crisp around the edges, turn and cook on the other side.
Mix well and add water if the batter looks think, before making the next dosa.
Serve with chutney of your choice.

Tangy Tomato chutney

I made this chutney with anything and everything I could find in my pantry. Did not have the main ingredient - tomatoes, but was craving for this chutney. Found some marinara sauce, and decided to try it out. The result was tangy and lip smacking. One of the best tomato chutneys I ever had.

Sliced red onion - 1
Green chilis - 4
Red Chilis - 4
Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
Chana daal - 2 tbsp
Urad daal - 2 tbsp
Peanuts - 2 tbsp
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic cloves - 6
Cilantro - handful
Mint leaves- 1/2 cup
Coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Marinara sauce - 2 cups
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp

In a pan, heat the oil. Add the cumin seeds, and the daal and peanuts. Add the onions, ginger, green and red chilis, garlic and fry. When the onion is soft, add the choped cilantro, mint leaves, coconut powder, tamarind, salt and stir. Add the marinara sauce and heat it through for a few minutes. Cool and grind coarsely.
Add chopped red onion and cilantro.
Tastes good with dosas, rotis or as a sandwich spread.

Baked Pakode

I always look for alternatives to deep frying. Some work and some don't. This is one dish that tastes just as good when baked. I add in a handful of chopped spinach and a grated carrot to make this a complete meal. The gram flour provide the protein.

Gram Flour/Besan - 1 cup

Semolina/Rava - 2 tbsp

Chopped Green Chilis - 2

Sliced Onion - 1

Grated carrot - 1

Chopped Spinach - 1 cup

Bread slice - 1

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Chili powder - 1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

In a bowl, add the all the above ingredients, sprinkle some water and mix well. The mixture should be thick. 

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray an aluminium foil or a baking dish with non stick spray, and spoon the mixture onto it. Bake for 10 min on one side, turn over and cook till done. Serve with dipping sauce of your choice.

Chicken Biryani

I have one word for this Biryani - Delicious!!! This dish is bursting with flavor and quick to make. Dum biryani is in rage these days, but I like this version better. The same method can be made with lamb, with a slight variation. Pressure cook the lamb for a couple whistles before starting the process.

Chicken - 2 lbs (Leg meat)

Onions - 1 big

Green Chilis - 6 to 8

Mint - Small bunch

Cilantro - Small bunch

Tomatoes - 3

Ginger Garlic paste - 1 1/2 tbsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup

Red chili powder - 1 tbsp

Biryani Masala - 1 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Oil - 2 tbsp

Yogurt - 2 tbsp

Chicken marinade:

Marinate the chicken with 1 tsp salt, red chili powder, 1/2 tbsp ginger garlic paste and the yogurt.

Let the chicken marinate for an hour.

Soak the basmati rice in water for 1/2 an hour.

In a large pan, heat the oil. Add the sliced onion, green chilis and fry till soft.

Add the finely chopped mint and cilantro. 

Add the Ginger garlic paste and chopped tomatoes.

When the tomatoes are soft, add the marinated chicken and cook till its no longer pink.

Add the salt, biryani masala, and the coconut milk, rice and 1/2 cup water.

The chicken will release water while it cook. Adding more water will make the biryani mushy.

When the water starts to boil, close the lid and reduce to low.

Cook for 20 more min and check for the doneness of the rice.

Serve with raita or a side dish of your choice.

Sev and Ribbon Pakode

Crunchy, spicy, melt in your mouth. I don't have a sweet tooth, and love my savory stuff. I tried to make this healthier too...baking them instead of frying them. Trust me, somethings are best left to the deep fryer :) The same batter can be used for both. Also, you could make any shape in the press with the same. My mom would make these with double the besan to rice flour. I noticed that this is not the usual ratio. I like hers, so using the same ratio.

Besan - 2 cups

Rice Flour - 1 cup

Hing - 1 tsp

Carom seeds (Ajwain/Omam/Vamu) - 2 tbsp

Salt - To taste

Butter or Ghee - 2 tbsp (Melted)

Red chili powder - 2 tbsp

Oil - To fry

Water - To mix the dough

Muruku press

Method:

Mix all the ingredients except the ajwain and  oil in a bowl. Add water and mix till it forms a dough. This will be soft, yet firm.

Heat the oil. Use the sev attachment in the press, and fill it with the dough. Press into the hot oil, making a large round.

Wait till the bubbles subside and turn once. Fry till golden brown and remove onto an absorbant paper.

For the Ribbon pakoda, add the carom seeds to the rest of the batter and mix. 

Change the attachment in the muruku press and make the pakodas similar to the sev.

Cool and store in an air tight container.

Beans Carrot Poriyal

This is one of the dishes i make almost every week. It's really quick and i also use short cuts for this.
I use the frozen french cut green beans and match stick carrots. Cutting the carrots and the beans is the only work here, and by using the short cut, that work is eliminated. Hence, my love for this recipe.

Thin cut carrots - 3 to 4
Thin cut green beans - 1 lb
Onion - 1/2
Green chilis - 3 to 4
Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Tadka:
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Channa and urad daal - 1 tsp each

In a pan, add the oil. Add the tadka ingredients, and when the seeds splutter, add the garlic, onions and green chilis.
Cook till the onions are soft, and add the carrots. When the carrots are cooked half way, add the beans.
Cook till soft, and add the salt, and coriander powder.
Add the grated coconut and remove from heat.

Jalebi

Jalebi is a favorite sweet dish loved and savored all over India. It's really easy to make, although I cheated here with the Gits Jalebi mix.

Mix the batter following the directions on the package. Fill the batter into a ziplog bag and cut a small hole on one of the edges.
Make small swirls in hot oil and fry them till golden.
Remove into one string sugar syrup that's warm.
Remove and serve warm.