appetizers

Vegetable Tempura With Sweet Chilli Sauce

January 7, 2014 By

This Months IFC ( International food Challenge ) challenge was hosted by Shazia Wahid of Cutchi Kitchen, she has a wonderful blog and I love her baking a lot . She challenged us with an array of all yummy recipes from Hokkaido cuisine. Hokkaido cuisine is nothing but a Japanese cuisine which is famous for its sea food and also foods with dairy products because they have a popular brand around japan. So from the list of recipes shazia had shared I made two recipes and I so enjoyed them a lot . Brain child of IFC is shobana and saraswathi who did a nice job creating this wonderful group.

So for the first recipe I made this delicious and crispy snack which so simple to make . They were so delicious and enjoyed them warm as a tea time snack. .

Recipe Source : Here

Ingredients

Mixed Vegetables of your choice – Pepper, Carrot, Baby Corn
Plain Flour – 1 cup
Baking Powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 1/2 tsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Ice cold water – 1 cup
Oil for deep frying

Method

Make a batter with the plain flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and ice-cold water.
Heat oil and dip the vegetables in the batter and deep fry. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or soy ginger dipping sauce.

Tips

Use cold water to get a lump free batter. Keep the batter chilled in between batches of frying.

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Ingredients

Vinegar – 1/2 cup
Sugar – 3 tablespoons
Dried Red Chillies – 1 teaspoon or more depending on how spicy you want it
Corn Flour – 1 1/2 teaspoon
Water – 1/2 cup

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and heat till the corn flour thickens the mixture to a sauce consistency.
Once cooled, pour into a clean container and store in the fridge. Serve with shrimp or vegetable tempura.

Tapioca / Yuca / Kappa Pakoda

October 28, 2013 By

Today’s recipe is for potluck party, this month Archana of tangy minds is my partner and she bought this delicious and interesting pakoda which is so very healthy . Am so happy to try it it was simply yumm . This pakoda is made with tapioca / yuca / kappa (in malayalam ) is a very very flavorful and a delicious tea time snack which needs a little time for soaking and grinding but if the batter is ready it can be prepared in minutes . Yuca as per wiki is a manioc tuber which is also known in the name of cassava.

Thanks to archana for sharing this unique and delicious pakoda which i have never ever tried . Tapioca is one veggies I haven’t tried and this was the first time i used them in pakodas. They turned out very yummy and now I will try this again and again for sure . Thanks archana we totally loved this unique pakoda and am so happy that i was able give this a try .

Recipe source : Tangy Minds

Ingredients

1 medium Tapioca/kappa. Peeled and grated.
1/2 Cup Idly rice
1/4 Cup Channa dal
2 tbsp each of Urad dhal,Toor dal,Moong dhal
1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
2 no Green Chillies
3 tbsp Coriander leaves finely chopped.
1/4 Tsp of Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp of Fennel Seeds
2- 3 Red chillies (adjust to your taste )
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying

Method

Soak idly rice along with red chillies and all lentils / dals separately and allow it to rest for about 2 to 3 hours.
Grate the tapioca/kappa after you peel the skin.Keep aside.
In a blender jar add the idly rice,red chillies,fennel seeds ,ginger garlic paste and pulse it for about few seconds to get coarse batter like consistency and make sure it should not make them in to very smooth paste.
Transfer the ground idly rice mixture into the bowl.
Now grind the lentils / dals in to coarse batter sprinkle water if needed.
Combine the ground idly rice and dals together.Mix well till well combined .
Add grated tapioca to it and mix well thoroughly.
Add finely chopped onions,green chillies (chopped),coriander leaves,turmeric powder and finally add salt.
In a kadai,Add the oil for deep frying.Make sure it is on medium high heat.
Make into small sized balls and put in hot oil and fry till it gets brown in color and it gets cooked.
Serve immediately with any chutney or sauce . goes well with a cup of tea or coffee.

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Tips

You can also use a paniyaram pan to fry these pakodas in a more healthy way .

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Chola Tikki / Chickpea Patties

May 11, 2013 By

Hi friends !! Here i am to share an yummy , healthy and delicious starter recipe with you all :). I am sure all of you love to have aloo tikki , this tikki is slightly diffrent and protein rich as i have used Kabuli channa/ Chickpeas/Garbhanzho beans. These are perfect tea time snack and are delicious snack for rainy days. My H enjoyed this snack liked it a lot :). Perfect starter to start with an delicious meal and quick to make even if the chickpeas are already boiled.

Ingredients

1 cup of boiled chickpeas (kabuli chana)
1 medium potatoes
3 tbsp chopped Onion
1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
1 tbsp chopped cilantro /coriander leaves
1 chopped green chili seeded, adjust to taste
1/2 tsp Red chilli pd
1/2 tsp cumin pd
1/2 Turmeric pd
1 tsp Rice flour ( you can add little extra if the mixture is too mushy )
1 tsp lemon juice
salt to taste
Oil to shallow fry

Method

Boil potatoes until they are tender but not too very mushy.
Once cooked, drain the water and let the potatoes cool down.
After potatoes are cool, peel the skin off and grate the potatoes.
Drain the water out of the chickpeas and dry the chickpeas using paper towel .
Mash the chickpeas coarsely .
Mix all the ingredients together adjust salt and chillies to your taste.
With oiled hands, divide the mixture into equal portions.
Make them into the shape of patties keeping them about a half inch thick.
Heat the oil in a flat bottom saucepan/ Tawa on medium flame .
Place the Tikkis in the tawa/saucepan and shallow fry the Tikkis on both sides until both sides are golden brown. If the Tikki is very dry use more oil as needed without making them too very greasy.
Serve Tikki hot. Tikki can also be served with tomato ketchup/chutney.

Tips

If mixture is too moist Tikki will break.So make sure there is not too much of moisture in chickpea or potato.
Tikki can be made before and refrigerated for two days.
You can even bake these patties at 350 F for 15- 20 mins or till golden brown.
Instead of onions you can even substitute Spring onion greens and the onion blubs .
You can make these patties in different shapes as you like .
I added rice flour so that it gives the mixture bind well and also to make it little crispier.

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Rice pakoda

April 15, 2013 By

We all will be having left over rice and will be wondering what can be done with it . Here is an delicious starter recipe from Homely Food . Thanks to meenu anuty for the wonderful idea to make use the leftover rice . These rice pakoda’s so very delicious and my H just loved this crispy treat. I made some minor changes to the original recipes by adding dill leaves to it for extra flavor and delicious taste. Lets quickly move to the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups rice
1/2 cup Besan
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 cup curd
2 chopped green chillies
1/2 tsp red chilli pd
1/4 tsp turmeric pd
1/2 tsp cumin pd
2 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped
2 tbsp dill leaves chopped
1 inch ginger finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Method

In a bowl take the leftover rice and combine all the ingredients mentioned above.
Mix well and see whether you are able make balls . If you are not able make balls and the mixture is bit dry then sprinkle some water and try to make balls.
In a pan heat oil and once the oil is hot enough to fry start sliding the balls in the oil.
Fry them till golden brown and keep them on a kitchen towel/ tissue so that excess oil is drained out .

Crispy rice pakodas are ready to serve with any chutney .

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Dill leaves pakodas/fritters and Dill bread pakoda

March 13, 2013 By

Made some dilli leave pakodas/ fritters for tea time snack which is very good for fussy kids and adult who do not include green leafy veggies in their diets . Dill is one of those herbs that in effect have two different seasons. In early spring it is used for its leaves and then later in fall for its seeds. Each part of the plant has its own characteristics and properties. Dill leaves are very rich in minerals, vitamin C and flavonoids,Protection Against Free Radicals and Carcinogens,An Anti-Bacterial Spice, A Flavorful Way to Help Prevent Bone Loss. Lets quickly look at the ingredients to prepare this healthy pakodas recipe

Ingredients:

2 cup oil (for frying)
1/2 bunch of dill leaves (sepu )
1 cup Bengal gram flour (besan)
1 chopped green chilli
1 tsp red chili powder
1 t/s turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tbsp cumin pd
salt as per taste
water to make batter

Method:

Chop the dill leaves finely and keep aside.
Mix all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl except oil and warm water. Now add the chopped dill leaves and give a nice mix.

Add little warm water and mix with your finger Or fork. The consistency should be thick enough. If it’s too dry add little water if too thin add more gram flour to it.

Take a deep frying pan add oil. Place on high heat once oil is hot reduce the heat. Take a spoon and scoop out the batter one by one. Don’t cluster too many at a time. Fry few until nice crispy and golden brown on medium heat. Repeat the same with rest of batter.

Serve hot with tomato sauce and tea.

Tips:

Ensure you fry them on medium heat else they will burn.
The batter consistency shouldn’t be too thick Or thin.
You could make same fritters with spinach Or fenugreek leaves.
Place them on absorbent napkins to absorb excess oil.

Variation :

Dill Bread pakoda :

when my hubby was having these pakodas he asked for bread bhaji and i told him i didn’t make bhaji batter that time this idea popped up in my mind.. Just made some cubes of bread and coated with the above pakoda batter and fried them till golden brown

.. and got the bite sized bread pakodas ready .. they were really yummy and tasted very good with the flavours of dill leaves..

Yellow Pumpkin cutlets

February 19, 2013 By

I was just thinking to prepare dinner so opened my refrigerator and found pumpkin without knowing what am doing i picked it up and so started, with approximation added all the ingredients listed below,plated and served to my dear hubby ..To my surprise he loved it and ate all the cutlets i served him :), then I named it as pumpkin cutlet.. It was a surprise recipe even for me he he 🙂 ..lets see the ingredients and method for these yummy n crispy cutlets 🙂

Ingredients

Chopped Yellow Pumpkin – 11/2 cup heaped
Potato – 1 medium sized
Chopped Green chilli – 1 no
Cumin pd – 1
Red chilli pd – 1/2 tsp
Rice flour – 2 tbsp (I added rice flour to make my cutlets more crispier you can also substitute them with cornflour)
salt to taste
Dry Bread crumbs to coat
Oil for frying

Method

Boil chopped pumpkins and potatoes till they are well done , Mash them together and mix well with other ingredients excluding bread crumbs till well combined .
Now make the mixture in to desired shapes either circle or any other shape . I made them in a triangular shaped cutlets .
Nicely coat the shaped cutlets in dry bread crumbs so that they are fully covered with bread crumbs.
Heat oil in a pan and when they are hot enough to fry the cutlets slide in the coated cutlets on by one and fry them both the sides till golden brown .
These cutlets taste good with tomato ketchup, you can also dip them in green chutney and enjoy .

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Rava corn dhokla

February 4, 2013 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

I love making Instant dhokla , this is giving a twist to the normal dhokla. Combining corn and rava makes this dhokla taste divine and it is really amazing how the fresh flavour of the crushed sweet corn kernels enhances the taste of the otherwise bland rava.When sweet corn kernels is blended with curds, these dhoklas are sure to win you many compliments. And what’s more, it can be whipped up in no time at all! fruit salt works its magic by helping the dhoklas to rise without any fermentation. lets look for the ingredients and method for making these yummy dhoklas.

Recipe Inspiration – Tarla dalal

Ingredients

3/4 cup sweet corn kernels (makai ke dane)

1/2 cup low fat curd

1 cup semolina /rava

1/2 tsp ginger-green chilli paste

salt to taste

1 tsp fruit salt

1/4 tsp lemon juice

For tempering

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

2 slit green chillies

1 tsp sugar

1//4 cup water

1 tsp oil

For The Garnish

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander (dhania)

Method

Combine the sweet corn and curds together and blend in a mixer till smooth.
Add the semolina, ginger-green chilli paste, salt and ½ cup of water and mix well.
Just before steaming, sprinkle the fruit salt and add lemon juice over it.
When the bubbles form, mix gently and pour spoonfuls of the batter immediately into greased dhokla mould.
Steam for 15 to 20 minutes or till the dhoklas are cooked.

Cool slightly and demould and cut them in to pieces.

For tempering: In a pan heat oil add mustard seeds, sesame seed. Once they starts popping add slit green chillies saute and then add sugar and water boil for 2 mins and then turn off the stove.Pour this water in steamed dhokla’s as required .

Serve immediately garnished with chopped coriander leaves.
Serve this hot with mint chutney.

Tips
If you do not have moulds, use small cups/vatis. Or you can even spread the batter in a thali, steam and cut into pieces.

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Masala vada/Masal vadai Recipe | Paruppu Vadai

January 17, 2013 By manjulabharathkumar@gmail.com

Masala vada/masal vadai is one among the favorite snack of tamil nadu . Masal vadai are the crispy delight prepared from channa dal soaked and ground in to coarse paste in which onion, green chilli , ginger,fennel seeds and salt is added, after which they are shaped and deep fried in hot oil till golden and crispy beauties. slurrrp !!! mouth watering right?? My mom never fails to make these in rainy days so i learn’t to make masala vada from her .. lets quickly look into the ingredients and method to make these delicious vadas..

Ingredients

Channa dal/Bengal gram dhal- 1 cup
Onion-1 no ( finely chopped)
Green chillies-3 nos ( finely chopped)
Fennel seeds/ sombu-1 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Mint leaves – 4- 5 ( chopped)
Ginger – 1 inch piece

Salt as needed

Method

Soak Channa dal for 3 – 4 hours. After 3-4 hours drain channa dal completely.
Grind the batter to a coarse mixture without adding any water. I usually remove a handful of soaked dal before grinding and add them after I am done grinding.
Note: Don’t grind too long as we don’t want the batter to become a paste.
Mix onions, green chillies, ginger, fennel seeds .cut mint leaves curryleaves salt and cut curry leaves.

In a kadai heat oil , at the same time make vadai by taking a portion of the batter and flattening them between your palm.

Now deep fry the shaped vadai in hot oil fry the vadai till golden in color. Do the same for the rest of the vada mixture and fry them in low heat.
Lower the flame after you drop all vadai and cook in medium flame until done , keep flipping from one side to other frequently. Drain it in paper towel.
Serve hot with coconut chutney as side dish or enjoy it as is .

You can serve even with Tomatillo cilantro chutney Click here

Tips

Soak the channa dal well till it breaks when you try with your fingers, if its not soaked well the vadai will turn hard.
You an skip onion and add cabbage or spinach as well.
Green chillies can be skipped and you can use red chilli, but make sure you grind them with channa dal.
Flatten the vadai well in between your palms and press it , even that helps in making crispy vadai.
Leftover Vadai can also be used for making vadacurry.
Crush these masala vadas in White peas/ vatana gravy sundal top it with onion, coriander leaves and enjoy!!

Pineapple samosa

January 16, 2013 By

Samosa is one my fav and would love to have them any time in a day.Here is something different type of samosa which I’m sure all of you would like to make for you family and friends and will enjoy in rainy season. Yesss its pineapple samsosa which i adapted from tarla dalal recipes .. without any further ado lets peep into the ingredients and method to prepare this unique samosa

Ingredients

For The Dough

1 cup plain flour (maida)
2 tbsp ghee
salt to taste
1/4 tsp baking powder

For The Stuffing
2 tsp chopped pineapple
2 tsp crumbled paneer (cottage cheese)
1 tsp mozerrela cheese
salt to taste
2 tsp chopped capsicum
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dry red chilli flakes (paprika)
2 tsp chopped coriander (dhania)

Other Ingredients
oil for deep frying

Method

For the Dough
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well and knead into a stiff dough, using water as required. Keep aside.

For the stuffing
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Keep aside.

Preparing samosa’s:

Roll out parathas from prepared dough and cut into two parts.
Give shape of samosa, put 2 tbsp of stuffing.
Seal the edges properly.
Similarly prepare other samosas.
Heat the oil in a kadhai and deep fry till they turn golden brown from all the sides.
Drain on an absorbent paper.
Serve hot with pineapple salsa . click here for pineapple salsa recipe

I and my Hubby love to have somosa’s in a rainy day ..smelling the wet mud and tasting hot samosa’s hmm nothing can be better than this to celebrate valentines day . And of course enjoying the romantic weather sitting on our patio.. am hoping for rain this valentines day 🙂

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Dal vada / Moong dal vada

January 15, 2013 By

In India, every state and every city has it’s own favorite street side food. Moong dal bhaji or Dal Vada’ is a favorite street side food in Gujarat but we rajasthani make these vadas and gulgula( sweet wheat flour appum) for makar sakaranti/pongal. It is a traditional standard recipe made at every mawari home . As a street food its being served along with lightly fried, salted green chilies and salted onion pieces. The taste of hot crisp dal vadas with the chillies and the onions is seriously addictive. You can’t just have one and stop.
So lets look for the ingredients and method for this simple street food and This pongal/ makar sakranti special at home 🙂 ..

Ingredients

1 cup Moong Dal (yellow spilt moong dal/ split green gram dal without husk )
1 tbsp Chopped Coriander
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds
1-2 Green Chillies chopped
1 tsp Ginger chopped
2 tbsp chopped Onions
Salt to taste
Oil to fry

Method

Soak the moong dal in water for a 2 hours.
Grind it coarsely to form a paste if needed sprinkle some water while grinding.
Combine it with chopped onions, chillies, corainder, ginger and cumin seed.
Check the salt seasoning and divide the batter to equal part you can either make them in masal vada shape or make pakoda shapes.
Slide them in hot oil and deep fry till golden in color.
Serve this crispy vadas with green chutney or tomato ketchup.