Chana dal vada : A crunchy snack for soggy weather

Happy Indian Republic Day!

Saare jahan se achcha Hindusitan hamara…….

Chana dal vada is a perfect snack for rainy, soggy weather. Enjoy these crunchy fritters with the chutney of your choice and a hot cup of tea.

Ingredients:
Approx. 6 servings

• Yellow chana dal  – 2 cups
• Onion – 1/2 cup finely chopped
• Ginger garlic paste – 1/2 tbsp
• Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
• Fresh cilantro leaves – 2 tbsp finely chopped
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Vegetable oil for frying

Method:

1. Soak chana dal 4-5 hours in plenty of water.
2. Drain the water. Keep 1/4 cup soaked dal aside. Grind remaining dal without adding water.
3. In a large bowl, add the above dals, onions, ginger-garlic paste, cilantro leaves, green chilies, cumin seeds and salt. Mix well.
4. Heat oil in a pan for frying vadas.
5. Take 1 tbsp of the above batter in the palm of your hand, flatten them a bit and carefully fry them in medium hot oil till they turn golden brown in color.
6. Drain vadas on the kitchen towel.

Enjoy these garma garam vadas with the chutneys of your choice.

Fresh Mangodi ki Subzi

Ingredients: For approx. 4 servings

To make mangode:
Yellow moong dal – 2 cups
Gram flour (besan)  – 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Red chili powder – 1 pinch
Jeera  – 1 tsp
baking powder – 1 pinch
Cooking oil for deep frying
Salt as per taste

To make curry:
Yogurt  – 1/2 cup
Asafoetida powder -1 pinch
Bay leaf  -1
Cumin seeds  – 1/2 tsp
Dried red chilies – 2-3
Ginger paste  – 1/2 tbsp
Tomato puree  – 2 tbsp
Garam masala powder  – 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder  – 1 tsp
Coriander powder  – 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder  – 1/2 tsp
Cooking oil  – 2 tbsp
Salt  as per taste

Method:
To make Mangode:

• Soak green moong dal overnight. Next morning, grind moong dal using very little water.
• In a bowl combine, moong dal mix, besan , turmeric powder, red chili powder, jeera, baking powder and salt. Mix well and prepare a pakora consistency batter.
• In a pan, heat the oil for frying. Deep fry small mangode in medium hot oil using small spoon. Fry till mangode turns golden brown. Drain them on kitchen towel and keep aside.

To make curry:

• In a bowl, add yogurt, besan, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix well till it becomes smooth. Keep aside.
• In a pan, heat 2 tbsp cooking oil. Add bay leaf, asafetida powder, cumin seeds, dry red chilies and sauté.
• When it crackles, add ginger paste, fried mangode, tomato puree and yogurt mixture. Add one cup of water and mix well. Let it simmer 3-4 minutes. Add garam masala powder and its ready to serve.

Garnish and Serving suggestion:
Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve hot with fresh chapatis or fragrant basmati rice.

Mutter ki Kachori (Green peas stuffed snack)

Mutter ki Kachori (Green peas stuffed snack)

Kachori is one of the most common western Indian snacks. This recipe has green peas as main ingredient for filling. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and even tastes better as assembled chaat.

Ingredients:
For Kachori shell:

• All purpose flour [Maida] – 2 cups
• Melted butter or ghee – 2 tbsp
• Water (enough to make firm dough)
• Cooking oil to fry
• Salt as per taste

For Filling:

• Green peas – 3 cups (fresh or frozen)
• Ginger garlic paste – 2 tbsp
• Green chilies – 2
• Shredded coconut (fresh or dry) – 1/2 cup
• Cumin Seeds (Jira) – 2 tsp
• Garam masala – 1 tsp
• Amchur powder – 2 tsp
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil – 1 tbsp

Method:
To prepare filling:

1. In the microwave, cook green peas with very little water for 6 minutes, keeping it covered.
2. In the food processor, grind these green peas coarsely with green chilies.
3. In a pan, heat cooking oil. Add cumin seeds. When it starts splattering add ginger garlic paste to it. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
4. Now add green peas mixture and shredded coconut to it. Mix well. On medium low heat let it sit for 10-15 minutes. For fresh coconut it takes longer.
5. Once the mixture is all dried up, add amchur powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well.
6. Take it off the heat and let it cool completely before filling in the kachories.

To make Kachoris:

1. Combine all purpose flour, butter or ghee and salt. Mix evenly. Now add little by little water to make flaky dough.
2. Knead well to make it firm dough.
3. Keep the dough aside for 5-10 minutes.
4. Take small ball size dough. Roll it into small circles. Place 1 tbsp of prepared filling in the centre and bring the edges together. Make an even ball; flatten it a bit by pressing your thumb in the center gently.
5. Heat cooking oil for frying the Kachoris. Oil should be medium hot.
6. Deep fry kachoris very slowly till it is crisp and golden on both the sides.
7. Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.

Serving Suggestions:
Assemble Mutter ki kachori as chaat. Place 2 kachoris on a serving plate. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Mutter ki kachori is ready to be served.

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

Punjabi Kadhi Pakora

Punjabi kadhi pakora is yogurt based curry. It is a specialty of northern Indian province “Punjab”. It has fried dumplings (pakoras) made up of gram flour. Punjabi kadhi pakora is a great combination with fragrant basmati rice.

Ingredients
For Pakora:

• Besan (gram flour) – 1 cup
• Onions  – 1/2 cup chopped
• Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
• Green chili – 1 finely chopped
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Red chili powder – 1 tsp
• Baking soda – 1 pinch
• water (to make a smooth batter)
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

For Kadhi:

• Besan (gram flour)  – 3/4 cup
• Yogurt – 2 cups (sour is better)
• Onion – 1 sliced
• Ginger paste – 2 tsp
• Garlic  – 2 tsp minced
• Green chilies – 2 finely chopped
• Curry leaves – 8
• Cumin seeds (jira)  – 1 tsp
• Mustard seeds (rai) – 1 tsp
• Fenugreek seeds (methi dana) – 1 tsp
• Fennel seeds (saunf) – 1 tsp
• Asafetida powder – 1 pinch
• Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
• Kasoori Methi powder – 1 tbsp
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
• Garam masala powder – 1 tsp for garnish
• Fresh cilantro – 1 tbsp finely chopped for garnish

Method:
To make Pakora:

1. In a bowl take besan; add onions and all the other ingredients.
2. Add water to make smooth batter. Mix well.
3. In a pan, heat oil for frying at medium high heat.
4. Take batter, one spoon at a time, putting it in hot oil to make pakoras.
5. Turn them over once. Deep fry till it becomes golden and crispy.
6. Drain them on kitchen towel. Keep aside.

To make Kadhi:

1. In a large bowl, add yogurt and besan. Mix well. Now add 4 cups of water, salt and turmeric powder. Blend well. It should have any lumps
2. In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp oil. Add cumin, mustard, fenugreek and fennel seeds.
3. When it crackles, add asafetida powder and sliced onions. Sauté till it becomes translucent. Now add ginger, garlic, green chilies and curry leaves.
4. Sauté for 2-3 more minutes.
5. Add yogurt and besan mix to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir it once.
6. Let it simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in between a few times.
7. Add already prepared pakoras and kasoori methi powder to kadhi. Mix once gently and let it simmer for 5 more minutes on low heat.
8. Kadhi pakora is ready to be served.

Garnish and serving suggestions:
Garnish kadhi pakora with freshly chopped cilantro and garam masala powder. Enjoy with fragrant basmati rice.

Namak pare (Savory snack): Holi special

Namak Pare (Savory snacks)
These snacks are mostly prepared during festivals. But being such an easy recipe it can be enjoyed any time. Namak pare brings back lots of childhood memories. In our house hold, we enjoyed them year round. Thanks mom for such a wonderful snack!

Ingredients for Namak pare:

• All purpose flour (Maida) – 1.5 cups
• Semolina (Sooji) – 1/2 cup
• Carom seeds (Ajwain) – 1 tsp
• Yogurt  – 1/4 cup
• Butter/ Oil  – 2 tbsp
• Salt as per taste
• Cooking oil for frying
• Water to knead dough – 1/4 cup

Method:

1. In a large bowl, add all purpose flour and semolina.
2. Now add carom seeds, yogurt, 2 tbsp butter or oil and salt.
3. Knead it into a little stiff dough using very little water. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
4. Now divide the dough in 6 parts. Roll each part into a ball and keep aside.
5. With the help of rolling pin roll each ball into 10 inch diameter circles.
6. Cut these circles into thin strips and cut them again into 2-3 inch length.
7. Deep fry these pieces till light golden in medium hot oil.
8. Drain them on kitchen towel and let them cool completely.
9. Store these snacks in air tight containers for longer shelf life.

Enjoy Namak Pare with a cup of tea or your favorite drink anytime of the day.

Tricolor Bread Pakora

Ingredients : For bread pakoras : 8 pieces

For stuffing:
Potatoes  – 2 boiled and peeled
Onion –  finely chopped
Green chilies  – 1 finely chopped
Cilantro – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Roasted Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1/2 tsp
Amchur powder – 1 tsp
Chaat masala – 1 tsp
Salt as per taste

To make cover:
Bread   –  4 slices
Besan (gram flour)  – 1.5 cup
Red chili powder  – 1/2  tsp
Turmeric  powder  – 1/2  tsp
salt as per taste

For pakora assembly:

Tomato Ketchup  – 1/2 cup
Green chutney -1/2 cup

Cooking oil for deep frying

Method:

• In a bowl, prepare stuffing, by adding boiled and peeled potatoes, Onions, green chilies, cilantro, roasted cumin powder, red chili powder, amchur powder, chaat masala and salt. Mash it all together. Keep aside.
• Take one bread slice, apply a thin layer of ketchup on it . Cover it with another bread slice. Now apply a layer of potato stuffing on it. Cover with another bread slice. On this slice apply a thin layer of green chutney and finally cover it with a bread slice.
• The whole sandwich should have following layers:  Bread  – ketchup – Bread  – Potato stuffing – Bread  – Green chutney – bread .
• Cut the whole sandwich in 4 quarters. Quarters are easy to manage while frying. Keep them aside.
• For the covering batter: In a bowl, take besan, red chili powder, turmeric powder and salt. Mix well. Now add some water to make a smooth batter. Batter should not be runny.
• Now take each sandwich quarter, dip evenly in the above batter and fry it in medium hot oil.
• When the pakoda looks evenly golden on all sides, take it out and drain it on the kitchen towel.
• Let it cool a bit. Now cut it diagonally to reveal all the layers.

Enjoy with a cup of hot tea or cool lemonade.

Ragda Patties (Potato cutlets and dry peas curry)

Ingredients : (For approx. 4 servings)
For Patties:
Potatoes  – 4 (boiled)
Bread slices – 4
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Roasted cumin powder – 1 tsp
Cooking oil for shallow frying
Salt as per taste

For Ragda:
Dried whole peas – 1 cup
Onion – ½ cup finely chopped
Ginger – 1 tsp minced
Garlic – 1 tsp minced
Tamarind paste – 1 tbsp
Jaggery – 1 tbsp powdered
Cooking oil – 1 tbsp

Dry Spices for Ragda:
Jira (Cumin seeds) – 1 tsp
Hing (Asafoetida powder) – 2 pinch
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Amchur powder (dry mango)– ½ tbsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Salt as per taste

Method: To make Ragda

• Soak the dried peas overnight or for at least 6 hours. Pressure cook the peas till done.
• Heat oil in a deep pan, Add cumin seeds and Asafetida powder. When it starts crackling, add onions. Sauté onions for a few minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
• Now add all the dry spices. Sauté for 2 minutes.
• Now add boiled peas, tamarind paste and jaggery. Mix well. Add 2 cups of water and let it simmer for 15 minutes on low-medium heat. Mix well and ragda is done.

To make patties:

• Boil and peel potatoes. Grate potatoes for smooth texture. Keep aside.
• Take the brown edges off the bread slices. Now dip the bread slices in warm water, aand then squeeze out excess water.
• Add these bread slices to the potatoes. Also add red chili powder, roasted cumin powder and salt. Mix well and form a smooth dough if it.
• Make 8 equal portions of the dough. Take each portion in your palm make a tennis ball sized ball. Now flatten it to make tikki or patties. Patties can be round or oval shaped. Smooth out the edges of the patties and keep aside. [Apply little oil on your palms to avoid patties sticking on your hand].
• Heat griddle or pan, add 1 tbsp oil and shallow fry the patties golden brown on both the sides. Keep the heat medium high. Drain them on kitchen towel and keep aside.

Garnish and Serving Suggestions:
Place 2 patties on a serving plate. Pour 1-2 ladles full of ragda. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Yummy Ragda -Patties is ready to eat.

Celebrating Milestone: Blog reached 100,000 hits

A big Thanks to all my readers! I would like to share the joy of celebrating a great milestone with you all. The blog hits 100,000 views! Yes, and with all fairness it doesn’t count my own visits to the blog :-).

Thanks for being with me for last two years. This month, I’ll be celebrating blog’s Second Anniversary as well. This wouldn’t have been possible without you. Hope to get your support in the future too.

I’ll continue bringing vegetarian delights to you each week. Thanks again!

Corn Fritters [Bhutte ke bhajiye]

Rainy or gloomy weather calls for something hot, something crispy. What will be the better option than Spicy Fritters: Garma garam bhutte ke bhajiye with a cup of tea. Enjoy this easy recipe for corn fritters.

Ingredients;
For Corn fritters [Approx. 4 servings]
Corn kernels [Bhutte] -2 cups (frozen or fresh)
Gram flour [Besan] – 2 tbsp
Green chilies -2
Cilantro -1/2 cup (leaves only)

Dry spices:
Cumin seeds [Jira] – 1 tsp
Garam masala powder-1 tsp
Salt as per taste

For Garnish:
Chaat masala -2 tsp
Freshly squeezed Lemon juice -1 tbsp

Method:

• Thaw frozen corn kernels in microwave for 2 minutes. For fresh corn, carefully cut the kernels using sharp knife.
• In the food processer, add corn kernels and green chilies and pulse 4 times till it becomes coarse mixture. Keep aside.
• In a large bowl, add processed corn mixture, besan, cilantro and all dry spices. Mix well. Do not add water or it will make the batter runny.
• Heat cooking oil in a frying pan. Drop fritter batter by spoonfuls into the hot oil, and fry until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Garnish:
Sprinkle chaat masala on the fritters and also add some lemon juice. Serve immediately. Enjoy with green chutney and a cup of hot tea.

Note: You can also make chaat of these fritters, just add green chutney, tamarind chutney, finely chopped sweet onions, finely chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro, nylon sev and some chaat masala. Viola! Chaat is ready.

Raj Kachori

Kachori is one of the most common western Indian snacks. It is great on its own with tea/coffee and even tastes better as assembled chaat. It lasts for a couple of weeks if stored properly in air tight container, so it is a great anytime snack.

Ingredients:
For Raj Kachori [Approx 15 pieces]

For cover:

All purpose flour [Maida] – 2 cups
Melted butter or ghee – 2 tbsp
Water (enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry
Salt as per taste

For Filling:

Moong dal [Yellow split] – 1.5 cups
Saunf [Fennel seeds] – 1 tsp
Ajwain [Carom seeds] – 1 tsp
Jira [Cumin seeds] – 1 tsp
Hing [Asafoetida powder] – 2 pinch
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 tsp
Amchur powder – ½ tbsp
Garam masala powder -1 tsp
Cooking oil – 2 tbsp
Salt as per taste

Method:
To make filling:

• Soak moong dal for at least 4 hours.
• Steam moong dal till its half done. Keep aside to cool. In the food processer, coarsely ground the moong dal.
• In a pan, heat cooking oil. Add cumin seeds. When it starts splattering, add hing and steamed moong dal. Also add red chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, amchur powder and ajwain. Mix well.
• Cook till the filling is all dry. Keep aside to cool.

To make Kachoris:

• Combine all purpose flour, butter or ghee and salt. Mix evenly. Now add little by little water to make flaky dough.
• Knead well to make it firm dough.
• Keep the dough aside for 5-10 minutes.
• Take small ball size dough. Roll it into small circles. Place 1 tbsp of prepared filling in the centre and bring the edges together. Make an even ball; flatten it a bit by pressing your thumb in the center gently.
• Heat cooking oil for frying the Kachoris. Oil should be medium hot.
• Deep fry kachoris very slowly till it is crisp and golden on both the sides.
• Drain it on paper towel and let it cool down. Store it in an air tight container.

Note: Kachoris can have different fillings such as peas, mawa filling as dessert etc.

Serving Suggestions:
Assemble Raj kachori as chaat. Place 2 kachoris on a serving plate. Garnish it with sweet tamarind-date chutney, green chutney and spiced yogurt. Also add chopped red onion, namkeen sev and chopped cilantro.

Raj kachori is ready to be served.