Valakkai bajji

INGREDIENTS:

Raw banana-1 sliced using a mandolin
Besan- 1 cup
Rice Flour- 1/4 cup
Asafoetida- To taste
Orange food color- Optional
Salt-To taste
Red chilli powder- To taste, around 1 tsp
Hot oil- 1 tsp
Baking soda- 1/8 tsp or a pinch

PROCEDURE:

• Slice raw banana using a mandolin
• Mix the bajji batter with all ingredients with water and bring it to a dripping consistency where the batter flows a little but not too watery. Hot oil brings crispiness to the bajjis.
• Dip the raw banana slices in the batter and put in hot oil. Always use medium flame to fry, this will ensure uniform cooking.
• Drain excess oil in paper towels and serve hot with chutney of your choice. 
• Eat with hot chai or coffee and you are in heaven. Perfect weekend or Friday evening snack to enjoy.
• If you have excess batter, you can use bread, onions, potato to make bajjis.
• Tip: Besan flour to rice flour is 1:4 ratio.

Kara pidi kolukattai

INGREDIENTS

Rice flour- 1 cup
Water-2.5 cups
Red chillies- 2 nos
Green chili- 1 nos finely chopped
Cilantro- finely chopped
Curry leaves- 4 or 5
Asafoetida-To taste
Salt-To taste
Urad dal, channa dal, Mustard seeds- To temper
Sesame oil- 1 tsp

PROCEDURE:

• In a pan, add oil allow to heat up then add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chillies, green chilli, asafoetida, curry leaves and cilantro.
• Reduce the heat in stove, add water slowly to the pan. Now allow this to come to a boil.
• Now add rice flour and using a whisk mix it well to form a dough.
• Allow to cool enough for your hands to be able to touch comfortably.
• Meanwhile take a idly pan, pour water and allow to come to a boil.
• Spread sesame oil over the idly plates.
• Rub sesame oil over your palm and finger and make kolukattai or balls and arrange on idly plate.
• Place the idly plate with kolukkattai and steam for 6-8 minutes depending on your stove.
• Serve with coconut or kara chutney or eat plain. Now we have a healthy guilt free snack.

Egg Puffs

Ingredients:

Eggs-7 hard boiled and peeled.

Puff pastry sheet-1 box

Onions-1 big sliced

Tomato Puree-1 tbsp

Cumin seeds-1 tsp

Cilantro- Few leaves chopped for garnish

Chilli powder,Coriander seed powder,Garam Masala powder-Fennel seed powder

Ginger Garlic Paste-1 tsp

Salt per taste

Egg wash-1 egg

Procedure:

1.Boil eggs,peel and cut them into half.

2.In a pan, add oil,cumin seeds,onions,ginger garlic paste and fry till brown.

3.Add tomato puree, all the masala powders, little water and allow to cook.

4.Add cilantro for garnish.

5.Now cut the puff pastry sheet into 14 pieces.

6.Roll out each piece into thinner and longer pieces.

7.Add the onion mixture,place the egg facing down and pull the corners and cover into a flower/box.Using a brush, apply the egg wash on the pastry sheet for a nice glossy and brown texture.

8.Bake at 400F for 25-30 minutes.

Apologize for no pictures. Will upload them when I make it again.

Thai Pizza

This is an awesome pizza and is really quick and easy too.

INGREDIENTS:

Naan bread from Target- 1 packet
Peanut Sauce-Enough to smother the entire pizza
Tofu- Cut into tiny pieces
Spring Onions or Green Onions- 2 bulbs
Roasted Red Peppers-2 pieces from the can

PROCEDURE:

1,Take the Naan bread, smother the entire bread with peanut sauce.
2,Garnish the pizza with the tofu, roasted red peppers & spring onions.(Now the pizza is all colorful with white,red and green)
3,Bake in oven for 350 F for 8-10 minutes until done.

Note:

You can also substitute Panneer instead of tofu.

If you want you can garnish with cilantro but I think the green onions are good enough.

Instant Mysore Bondas

Ingredients:

Maida-1 cup

Rava-1 tbsp

Rice Flour-1/4 cup

Baking soda-1/8cup or 1/2 tsp

Onions-1/2 small chopped

Buttermilk-As needed

Green chillies-1 or 2 according to taste

Black pepper corns-1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Cilantro-Little, chopped

Asafoetida-2 puffs

Salt-According to taste

Procedure:

1.Mix rava,maida,baking soda,rice flour,cumin,pepper corns,salt and asafoetida with buttermilk until it reaches a thick consistency and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

2.When ready to fry in oil,add vegetables and fry till done.

3.Serve with coconut chutney or ketchup.

Sundal

Ingredients:
Boiled/Garbanzo beans-1 cup
Red chillies-3
Mustard seeds-1 tsp
Coconut flakes-2 tbsp
Asafoetida-Few puffs
Curry leaves
Salt-As needed

Procedure:
1.In a pan of little vegetable or canola or sunflower oil, add mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves, salt,asafoetida.
2.Mix the boiled channa after switching off the stove. Add the coconut flakes and mix.Garnish with a some cilantro.

Bruschetta

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
Basil Leaves-cut fine
Tomatoes-cubed
Balsamic Vinegar
Mozzarella Slices
French bread or Baguette-sliced
Salt and pepper-Add to taste

Procedure:
1. In a separate bowl,mix olive oil,balsamic vinegar,cubed tomatoes,salt and pepper.
2.Arrange the mozzarella slices on the sliced bread and put the above mixture and serve.

Optional:
You can add minced garlic and/or diced onions.
You can toast the bread but I prefer not toasting the bread,as it gets hard after a while.

Kuzhi paniyaram

Ingredients:

Sour idly batter

Season:
Onions-1/2 medium chopped fine
Red chillies-3
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Split urad dal-1/4 tsp
Channa dal-1/8 tsp
Asafoetida
Curry leaves

Procedure:

1. Make sure the idly batter is sour.
2.In a small pan,fry onions,tadka and mix this with the idly batter.
3.Pour in kuzhi paniyaram pans.
4.Serve with coconut chutney or idly podi.

Roasted sweet potato

I absolutely love this recipe. I serve these roasted sweet potatoes as a side with burgers, vegetable stew, pasta or just as a snack on a cold day. Sweet potatoes with a glass of milk makes a great filling breakfast too.

Sweet potatoes are very healthy. They are high in fiber, protein, vitamins A, C and B6, iron and calcium. This recipes uses very little oil and is really easy. So here we go.

For two good sized portions, you'll need:
2 sweet potatoes.
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp red chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
Salt to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. In a baking tray or cake tin, mix sweet potatoes, oregano, chilli flakes and salt. Spray with olive oil. Alternately, add 1 tbsp olive oil and toss until well distributed. Bake for twenty minutes to half an hour until cooked. Keep flipping them even 10 minutes or so to cook uniformly. Once done, change oven setting to broil. Flip even 1 minute to get a nice char on all sides of the cubes. The broiling part is optional. I broil for about 2-3 minutes total.

That's it. You could drizzle some lime juice just before serving. I like it without the lime juice. This keeps well in the fridge and tastes good hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Garbanzo Beans Sundal

Garbanzo Beans - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a spring
asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tsp

To grind together:
shredded Coconut - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Dhaniya (coriander) seeds - 1/4 cup
Dried Red chillies - 10-12 small or to taste
 

Optional Step:
Sprout Garbanzo Beans - http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/garbanzo.html

If not sprouting, soak the beans overnight.
Pressure cook (un)sprouted beams till cooked but not mashed up.
Grind Shredded coconut with dhaniya seeds and dried red chillies.

In a pan, sputter mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil and add asafoetida and the ground mixture and roast till raw dhaniya seeds smell is gone. Then add the cooked garbanzo beans and salt.Cook till the beans are all al dente and dry. Enjoy the protein-rich snack.

Momo with Tomato Achaar

Momo? Yes Momo! Those hot, juicy, straight out of the steamer, healthy, spicy, and oh so heavenlyNepalese dumplings. Oh those things you get at the Boulder farmers marker, the Viatnamese veggie dumplings. Well, yeah, but this is served with a spicy, fiery tomato chutney. Trust me, much better!

I had some Nepalese friends in Grad school. One of them introduced me to Momo's. Well, when I say introduced, I mean, she made them, and I devoured them. Did I learn how to make it from a true blue 100% Nepalese who would be more than willing to demonstrate the art of Momo making? Nope. (Duh! I know!) No I did not.

Now, with zero access to a "willing to demonstrate" Nepali, I had to rely on recipes online, youtube and what not. But viola! the Momo's turned out absolutely delicious! Without further ado, let me jump straight into the steamer... I mean the recipe.

For about, 24 Momo's (They disappear fast, so 24 is not that much), you'll need:

Momo wrapper:
1 cup Maida (or atta)
salt
1 tbsp oil
Water

Knead well with as little water as possible. Then cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for half an hour.

Filling:
About 2 cups of very finely chopped (I used a chopper) veggies. I used carrots, cabbage, bell pepper and (crimini) mushrooms.
Onion
Green chilli
Cilantro
Ginger
Garlic
cumin

Chop the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chilli very fine in a chopper. Heat a little oil, roast the onion etc etc. Once cooked (does not have to be brown), add all the other veggies. turn the heat off. Roast for 1-2 minutes. turn the heat off. Add salt, cilantro, cumin powder (optional), and keep aside. The veggies should not be fully cooked and dry.

Tomato Achaar:
3 tomatos
1 inch ginger
1-2 garlic cloves
4 green chillies (I used 4 serrano peppers with 3 tomatoes)
Salt
Cilantro.

Bake tomatoes in oven at 450F for about half hour. You could also just boil them, but I feel baking gives them a more concentrated flavor. Get them out. Peel them, and puree them with the green chillies. In a pan add a little oil, add chopped ginger & garlic. Once roasted, add the tomato puree. Add salt. Heat for about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Assembling the Momo's
After the dough has rested for half an hour, knead it again for about a minute. Then make small little balls out of it. Probably half the size of a poori ball. Roll it thin (as thin as a wonton wrapper). Make sure the edges are thinner than the center. This is very important.

Once rolled out, keep about 1 tsp full of the filling at its center. Wet the edges with a little water, and then seal shut (half moon shape). You could also close them like you close paranthas before rolling them out, like a little pouch. The key thing is that it better be sealed. You dont want all your filling pouring out of it mid way through steaming.

Make sure to keep them under a damp cloth as you go to the next one. Make your husbands part of the assembly line ladies , or else you'll take forever.

Once you are done, grease your idli maker. Make sure to grease it well. You dont want your momo's sticking to the idli stand and tearing open. I placed a cabbage leaf so that I didnt have to use too much oil.

Steam for about 10 minutes.

Thats it! All done. Enjoy with the spicy tomato achaar.

You could also pan roast them once they are cooked, or deep fry them.

Enjoy!

Agra ki Kachodi with Aaloo ki Subji

Karnataka express used to chug into Agra Cantt. at about 7:50AM. A quick cycle rickshaw ride later, there I was, in my Nani's Koti (Bunglow), savoring Garama Garam Kachodi, aaloo ki subji and Jalebi for breakfast while my Nani lovingly piled more on my plate. Sinful? yes, but absolutely delicious.

Here I am now, In Denver, on the other side of the globe from Agra and those hevenly Kachodi's. The only thing that keeps me going? I can make them now! And no, its not that hard.

In this post, the recipe of the standard, no frills Kachodi with Aaloo ki Subji. This is what you'll see most people eat in Uttar Pradesh. The stuffing is with urad daal. The subji is very spicy, and has more green chillies in it then potato. It is not served with chutney. Just kachodi & subji. Enjoy kachodi the Agra way!

Servings: 10 Kachodi's
Dough:
Maida (All purpose flour) - 1cup
Oil for kneading - 3tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Water - 1/3 cup

Stuffing:
Washed urad daal - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Dhaniya powder - 1tsp
Amchoor powder - 1tsp
Ginger powder - 1tsp (or 1tbsp grated ginger)
Fennel powder - 1.5tsp
Hing - pinch

Prep Work:
1. To begin, soak the urad daal for a couple of hours.

2. Mix salt into the flour. Rub salt into the flour. At this stage if you try to bind the flour with your fist and then release your fist, the flour should retain shape. Note: More the oil rubbed into the flour, lesser the water needed to knead it, more flaky the kachodis will be. The same holds true for Samosa's. Now start adding water into this slowly, while stirring & mixing with your hand the whole time. In a few minutes you'll have a soft dough. cover it with a wet cloth and keep it aside.

3. Once the urad daal is soaked enough, grind it to a very coarse paste. Now, heat one Tbsp oil in a pan, and add all the dry masalas and ginger (powder or fresh) to it. Then add the daal and salt. Roast it for sometime. If its too dry, sprinkle some water. Make sure to roast it until the daal does not taste raw anymore.

Now for Making the kachodi:

Take a small ball of dough. (Size of a ball for poori's). Flatten it slightly. Fill 1 tbsp of stuffing in it and close it like you would close a parantha. Keep it aside for a few minutes while the dough relaxes a bit. Stuff all the balls you have. Then one by one, flatten them either with a rolling pin or by hand. Make sure to not put too much pressure on it, or else, the dal may make holes in the dough and then you'll have oil filling up in your kachdi's when you fry them.

Now comes frying:

A few things to remember: First, with both kachodi's and samosa's, the oil should NOT be too hot. I usually fry it at 4 or so. If you put the kachodi in the oil, it should not start coming up and bubbling and hizzing as soon as you put it in. Second, keep the oil on low heat until the very end. Once they look done (should not be soft), then turn the heat to high and brown them.

So start adding kachodi's to the oil. Don't pile them on top of each other. And then sit and wait patiently until they get done. You'll see them puff up around the 2 min mark. Turn them over and continue frying.

Once they look done (cooked , but not brown), turn up the heat. Fry them till they are brown.
Thats it!
Now, the alloo ki sabji is really simple. Boil potatoes. Heat ghee/oil in a pan, add hing, jeera, grated ginger, as many green chillies (finely chopped) as you can tolerate. Then some red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, Amchoor (dry mango powder).
Add one finely chopped tomato (this is optional. They dont really add this, but I like it). Roast for a minute or so, Add about 2 cups of water and the boiled potatoes (slightly mashed).
Boil for 2-3 minutes. Then add a good amount of garam - masala. Garnish with cilantro and done!
Amazing amazing kachodi aur aloo ki sabji tayyaaar!

No fry Batata vadas/Mysore Bondas

Potatoes - Boiled and mashed(5-6 or as per requirements)
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
green chillies - chopped fine - 3-4 or to taste
ginger, grated fine - 1-2 tsp or to taste
asafoetida - a few pinches
cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped - for garnish
garlic minced (optional)
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/2 a tsp
lime juice of 1 lime
oil - 1 -2 tsp

Besan (chana dal flour) - about a cup
salt
turmeric powder

Sputter mustard seeds in oil and add asafoetida, garlic, chillies and ginger in that order. When chillies are fried enough, add the mashed potatoes, salt and turmeric powder and stir well. Remove from fire and add chopped cilantro and lime juice and mix.

Make a very thick paste of besan, with water in the consistency of idli batter or thick yogurt so that it sticks to the potato balls. Add turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.

Heat an appam/paniyaram pan and add a little oil to every appam mould in the pan. If you have a nonstick like mine (or a seasoned cast iron pan), no oil is required. When the potatoes have cooled down enough for handling comfort, make small balls of the potato bhaaji (curry) and dip in besan batter and place them on the moulds of the pan. Once the batter does not stick to the pan and has brown spots, turn over and cook again. Depending on oil used and shape of the bondas/vadas they may not be brown all over but will still be cooked and taste good.

Serve with chutney of choice (green and sweet chutney or coconut chutney) or with pav as vada pav with green, sweet and dry garlic chutney.

butternut squash fries

A very good substitute for Kerela style jackfruit chips.

Peel and cut butternut squash into thick french fry style pieces. Spray(coat) with (olive) oil, salt and chilli powder. Roast in the oven at 450 F for 15-20 minutes on a greased roasting plate.
If not using a roasting plate ( with slits on its surface) you may have to turn the fries once in the oven.

Remove from oven when done and enjoy.
Recipe works with winter squashes. (i have tried acorn squash as well and prefer the butternut variety)

Veg Cutlet

Ingredients:
Carrots,Beetroot,Cabbage,peas-grated
Potato-Boiled and smashed
Turmeric powder,Danya powder,garam masala,chilli powder,chat masala,saunf powder,cumin powder
Ginger garlic paste
cilantro,mint leaves-chopped fine
onion- little bit grated
Rice flour,corn flour or besan flour
bread crumbs

Procedure:
Grate all the veggies and green chillies in a chopper
Add potatoes and all the powders and mix well
Add grated onions,cilantro,mint leaves,salt,rice flour and besan flour or corn flour to get a solid consistency
Roll in bread crumbs and shallow fry till dark

Sorry no exact proportion. Depends on how much veggies you have in hand.