Cow Peas Vada

Ingredients: 1 1/4 cup Cow Peas (soaked in water for 4-6 hours,drained
2-3 tbsps cup grated coconut (optional)
1/4 cup grated carrots (optional)
3/4 cup finely chopped onions
3-4 green chillis finely chopped
2″ ginger finely minced
1 tsp cumin seeds (optional)
1 small bunch coriander leaves finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

Procedure:
1 Grind the soaked and drained black eyed peas to a coarse paste adding very little water. Add the chopped onions, grated carrot, coconut, green chillis, ginger, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and salt and mix well.
2 Take some of this mixture to form a lemon sized ball. Flatten it on your palm to make a patti shape. Prepare patties with the rest of the mixture.
3 Heat oil for deep frying. Once its piping hot, reduce flame to medium and place these patties in the oil and fry them to a golden brown color.
4Serve hot with tomato sauce or any chutney of your choice.I served with Sambar.

Cauliflower Vadai

 CauliflowerVadai : Once again a recipe with #cauliflower. The cauliflower and cabbage available here at Raipur, CG are of smaller in size and tastier than that are available in Chennai and Bangalore.

 Cauliflower  is a low calorie food and rich in Vitamin C and B6. Cauliflower contains sulforaphane which researchers believe eliminating cancer stem cells.

Cauliflower is low in fat, low in carbohydrates but high in dietary fiber, folate, water, and vitamin C, possessing a high nutritional density.

Cauliflower contains several phytochemicals, common in the cabbage family, that may be beneficial to human health.

• Sulforaphane, a compound released when cauliflower is chopped or chewed, may protect against cancer.
• Other glucosinolates
• Carotenoids
• Indole-3-carbinol, a chemical that enhances DNA repair, and acts as an estrogen antagonist, slowing the growth of cancer cells.

Boiling reduces the levels of these compounds, with losses of 20–30% after five minutes, 40–50% after ten minutes, and 75% after thirty minutes.However, other preparation methods, such as steaming, microwaving, and stir frying, have no significant effect on the compounds.

A high intake of cauliflower has been associated with reduced risk of aggressive prostate cancer.

Source : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cauliflower

It takes very less time to cook and everybody likes fried cauliflower with batter & spiced up with tomato sauce.
Here comes one more fried recipe of Cauliflower with urad batter which is as good as cauliflower manchurian.

Ingredients :

While grinding urad dhal for idly take out approx. 1/2 cup of ground urad dhal in a separate container and store in fridge.

Ingredients :
Urad dhal batter                              : 1/2 cup
Rawa (sooji)                                   : 2 tblsp
Rice flour                                        : 1 tblsp
Cauliflower                                     : 3 to 4 florets
Onion                                             : 1 small size
Curry & coriander leaves                : a small quantity
Green chilly                                    : 1 (optional )
Black pepper grated                       : 2 pinches
Cumin                                            : 2 pinches
Ajwain [ omam ]                            : 2 pinches
Salt                                                : 1/2 tsp
Oil                                                 : 1 cup

Method :
Half an hour before add rawa to urad dhal batter and mix well.
Keep in the fridge to avoid fermentation.
After half an hour thinly chop onion, nicely chop cauliflower, green chilly, curry and coriander leaves.
Add these chopped ingredients, rice flour, crushed pepper, ajwain [ omam ] and cumin to the batter.
Do not add water. If the batter is watery add 1 or 2 tsp of rice flour.
Heat oil in a kadai and when the oil becomes hot flatten a small ball of batter after lubricating hands with water.
Then put a hole at the center and slowly drop into the oil. Fry 3 to 4 at a time.
  Fry over a medium flame until it turns golden brown.
Take out from oil and place on a tissue/ kitchen paper to remove excess oil.
In the same way try to make vadai in batches.

Pasi Parupu Vadai / Green Gram Patties

Pasi Parupu Vadai / Green Gram Patties

Ingredients

Moong dal split-150g

Large onion-1/2cup

Coriander Leaves-1/2cup

Pasi Parupu Vadai / Green Gram Patties

Garlic-2cloves

Green chili-4

Salt-to taste

Oil-for frying

Preparation

Pasi Parupu Vadai / Green Gram Patties

1

Soak and wash the moong dal for 1hr,then blend to a corse.

2

After add finely chopped onion,garlic,green chili,coriander leaves,salt and mix well.

3

Take a moong dal mixture,press the both hands in vada shape.

4

Heat oil and deep fry till it is golden brown.

5

After 2 mins slowly turn the vada in both sides.

6

Hope and enjoy ur recipe :)

Karamani Vada/Rajma Vada

Rajma Vada

Ingredients:
Kidney beans/karamani(small & brown)1 cup
Salt
Green chilies 8/Dry red chilies 8-chopped
Ginger-garlic paste 2 spoons
Fennel seeds 2 spoons
Onion 2 finely chopped
Coriander leaves few finely chopped
Curry leaves few finely chopped
Oil for frying.
Method:
Soak overnight the kidney beans. Wet-grind coarsely the other day, using very limited water.
To this add all the above said ingredients except oil. Mix them well.
Heat oil in a pan. Make small 3 inch size fritters(vadai) and surface fry them in hot oil.
Serve hot with mint and tomato chutney.

Chicken Balls / Chicken Vada

Chicken Vada

 Chicken balls, sounds like a different recipe isn’t it. Of coarse yes, the making is also very simple, only tedious part is shredding the chicken however if you get the shredded chicken from shops then your job becomes easy. It’s a delicious non vegetarian starter or a snack and you can have it as it is or with any kind of dipping sauce. It’s another recipe which clicks in every non vegetarian next to Kola Urundai. (I have posted it :) )
 

The method is very similar of how you make a masala vada. But always remember to wash it well the shredded chicken if you get it from shop and sauté separately before you mix to the batter so that it tastes better and doesn’t have the raw smell in it. you can also mix up with rice flour and corn flour if you want the balls a little crispy as well. Here you go with the making.

Ingredients:

• Shredded Chicken – 1 Lb
• Onion - 1 (finely chopped)
• Coconut grated- 2 Tspn
• Roasted gram/ Channa Dal- 1 Cup (Marinate for half an hour and grind coarsely)
• Ginger-garlic paste- ½ Tspn
• Coriander Leaves- Few Chopped
• Fennel seeds – 1 Tspn
• Cumin Seeds- 1 Tspn
• Dry red chilies- 5 Nos
• Salt - To Taste
• Cloves - 2
• Curry leaves (Sliced)- Few

Method:

• Grind the channa dal coarsely (like grinding for vada) after marinating it at least for half an hour.
• In a pan, pour little oil, add the shredded chicken and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the raw smell goes off completely from it.
• Mix all the ingredients with the ground channa dal and cooked shredded chicken and mix well with hand.
• Make small balls and drop it in hot oil, flip sides and cook until it turns brown.

Chicken Vada

Tips:

"It’s always better to sauté the shredded chicken so that it’s cooked well, so that it will be good to taste.

You can add an egg to the batter which gives an extra taste to the balls."

Mysore Bonda with Curry Leaves Chutney

Mysore Bonda with Curry Leaves Chutney

I think most of u can prepare bonda/bhaji very easily ..But for me, making bhaji and bonda  is always an achievement  . I suck in making these.So i am always afraid to try even with readymade bhaji/bonda mix..Yesterday I Prepared this  bonda for the first time.Usually i make only vada with urad dal . My Mom suggested me to try this bonda ..It came out excellent ..Thanks to my Mom , i learnt an yummy,easy snack .This gave me a confidence to try bhaji and bonda varieties soon ..I served it with Curry Leaves chutney which you can check under "Chutneys" label.
INGREDIENTS :

• Urad dal – 1/2 cup
• Green chilly – 1 no (optional )
• Pepper corns – 1 – 2 tsp (slightly crushed )
• Curry leaves – A few (chopped)
• Coconut pieces – 1 handful ( small in size)
• Coriander leaves – Few (chopped)

METHOD :

• Soak urad dal for 30 mins .Grind using very little water along with salt and green chilly.
• Now add the chopped coconut pieces , curry leaves ,coriander leaves and slightly crushed peppercorns..
• Mix well and make sure the batter is thick.If it is watery add little rice flour.
• Now heat the kadai with oil and fry these bondas in batches.

Serve hot !!

Instant Bonda with Coconut chutney and Onion Sambar

Instant Bonda with Coconut chutney and Onion Sambar

 Ingredients:
Maida flour - 1 and 1/2 Cups
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Sour Curd - 1 cup
Green chillies - 5
Soda salt - 1 teaspoon
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Chopped ginger- 1/2 teaspoon

Instant Bonda with Coconut chutney and Onion Sambar

Chopped Onions - 1cup
Slited coconut pieces - 1 tablespoon
Salt - To taste
Oil - For Frying the bondas

Method:

• Mix the flours along with salt, soda salt and curd and leave it for 30 mins


• After half an hour, add chopped ginger, green chillies, cumin seeds and slit coconut pieces and mix well


• Heat the oil in the pan and test if the oil is ready for frying the bondas. Take small balls of dough and gently drop it in the oil 


• Fry the bondas till it becomes crisp in medium flame on both the sides


• Remove the fried bondas and place it in a plate having a tissue paper to drain the excess oil 


• The delicious Maida bonda is ready to serve

COCONUT CHUTNEY

Coconut chutney and Onion Sambar

This is one of the most ubiquitous side dishes, in all of south india. Idli, dosa or vada, any savoury snack is generally accompanied by coconut chutney. This popular accompaniment can also be readied in minutes.

  Preparation Time: 10 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins
Makes 1 servings

Ingredients

1 cup grated coconut
2 small green chillies , chopped
1 tsp grated ginger (adrak)
1 tbsp roasted chana dal (daria)
salt to taste

For The Tempering1/2 tsp mustard seeds ( rai / sarson)
1 red chilli , broken into pieces
2 to 3 curry leaves (kadi patta)
1 tsp oil

Method

1. Put the coconut, green chillies, ginger, roasted split gram and salt in a blender with a little water and grind to make a fine paste. Keep aside.
2. Prepare the tempering by heating the oil and adding the mustard seeds, red chilli and curry leaves and stirring till the mustard seeds crackle. Pour this tempering over the chutney and mix well.
3. Refrigerate and use as required.
   • Sambar onion – 15 to 20 Nos
   • Tomato – 1 No (medium size)
   • Green Chilli - 2
   • Thuvar dhal(Pigeon Peas) – 1 cup
   • Tamarind – small lemon size
   • Sambar Powder – 1 tablespoon
   • Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
   • Salt – 1 teaspoon or as per taste
   • For seasoning:
   • 2 tablespoon oil
   • Half teaspoon mustard
   • A pinch of asafeotida powder
   • Few curry leaves
   • Fresh coriander leaves - few

Method:
Wash thuvar dhal and add two cups of water along with a pinch of turmeric powder and pressure cook till soft.
Soak tamarind in water and squeeze out the juice. It should be of 2 cups.
Peel the onion and keep it whole. Cut tomato into medium size pieces Slit the green chillies lengthwise.
In a kadai put the oil (preferably gingelly oil) and when it is hot add mustard. When it pops up add asafotida and whole onions, green chillies, curry leaves and fry till the onion looks glossy. Add tomatos pieces and fry for just one minute. Then add tamarind juice along with sambar powder, turmeric and salt. Cook on medium flame till it boils well. Then add the cooked dhal mashed. Stir and cook till all blends well and thick. Remove it and garnish wish fresh coriander leaves.

Dahi Vade (Bhalle) Chaat ;)

Dahi Vade (Bhalle) Chaat

Ingredients Required:

• Urad daal (250gm)
• Ginger
• Haldi
• Salt
• Hing
• Imli
• Dahi(Curd)
• Jeera
• Lal Mirch Powder
• Chaat Masala powder
• Oil
• Chopped Cucumber,Mango,Carrot,Cilantro,Onions(1cup all together)
• Tortilla Chips(for topping) . (optional)

Steps To Cook:

Dahi Vade (Bhalle) Chaat

• Step1>Soak Urad daal for about 3,4 hours in water.
• Step2>Now grind Urad daal in a mixer for 5 min.See that you add half cup of water while grinding it.
• Step3>Take out the paste and keep it in a bowl.Add salt,ginger paste,Hing to it.
• Step4>Now take hal cup of oil and pour it in a frying pan so that you can easliy fry.
• Step5>Make rounded balls out of the paste you prepared and deep fry the balls until it is light brown in color.
• Step6>Repeat step5 for as many balls you want to make.
• Step7>Now when your fried balls are ready keep them aside for 1 hour.
• Step8>Now take warm water and put all the balls into it to remove extra oil.
• Step9>Quickly dry all the oil and water from the soaked balls and start keeping them in a separate plate.
• Step10>Now,pur these balls into the curd.
• Step11>Finally when you want to serve it,Add Lal mirch powder,imli chatni and jeera powder ,chopped veggies and crush the tortilla chips to it. Your delicious Dahi Vade (Bhalle) is ready...

Spicy panko chickpeas patties

Spicy panko chickpeas patties

As we talked, I was reminded of an older recipe of mine which I hadn’t revisited for quite some time. My Crispy Panko Chickpea Patties are a perfect example of a Japanese/Middle Eastern fusion dish. I recently went back to retest this recipe and made quite a few adjustments. The original recipe called for soaked chickpeas, but when I made them again they cooked up really crunchy and falafel-like. I felt like the light and crisp texture of the panko was lost to the crunchiness of the soaked beans. I made them a few more times using cooked chickpeas, which made a softer center and allowed the panko to cook up golden and crunchy. Using cooked (or canned) chickpeas also helped the mixture to hold together better, making it easier to form patties. Finally, I tested a baked option for those who don’t like to deep fry. It’s not as delish as the fried version, but it does have a lot less fat/oil, so it’s a good option for those who are watching their weight.

These patties have become my new go-to vegetarian burger option. I like serving them on slider buns with a variety of toppings. The heat can be adjusted to taste. They’re good enough to make me jump on the fusion cuisine bandwagon. Panko for the win!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 cups chickpeas (garbanzo beans) - cooked or canned and drained
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp minced fresh garlic or ½ tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp salt (if you’re salt sensitive, use ½ tsp)
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, or more to taste (if spice sensitive, start with 1/4 tsp)
• 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs
• Grapeseed oil for frying

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

• food processor, skillet (if baking, you will need a baking sheet, nonstick cooking oil spray and grapeseed oil)

Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 20 - 40 Minutes

Total Time: 30 - 50 Minutes

Servings: 12 patties

• Fit your food processor with a metal blade attachment. Place cooked chickpeas, chopped parsley, eggs, cumin, garlic, salt, and cayenne pepper into the food processor.
• Pulse the ingredients together just a few times till the chickpeas are chopped and the ingredients are mixed. Scrape the sides of the processor after a few pulses. Do not over-process or you’ll get hummus—stop when the mixture is still rough and only partially hummus-like.
• Once the mixture reaches the desired consistency, pour it out into a bowl and use a fork to stir in the panko breadcrumbs till well mixed.
• Form the chickpea mixture into small slider-sized patties, ¼ cup mixture per patty.
• Fill a skillet with grapeseed oil to a depth of ¼ inch. Heat the oil slowly over medium heat till hot enough to fry. Before frying my first batch of patties, I like to test the oil temperature by frying one patty in the center of the pan. If the oil is at the right temperature, it will take about 2-3 minutes per side to brown (5-6 minutes total). If it browns faster than that, your oil is too hot and your patties will not be fully cooked in the center. Cool the oil down slightly and try again. This is also a good opportunity to taste the first cooked test patty and adjust seasonings, if desired, adding more cayenne for a spicier patty or more salt to taste.
• When the oil is at the right temperature, fry the patties in batches of 4 till golden brown on both sides.



Spicy panko chickpeas patties

• When the patties are fried, remove them from the oil using a slotted spoon or spatula. Let them drain on paper towels. Serve the patties fresh and hot.  You can serve them on their own, or on slider-sized buns with a variety of burger-like toppings.
•  MINT COCONUT CHUTNEY
• main ingredients:
  • ¼ cup mint leaves
  • ½ cup grated coconut, fresh or frozen
  • 1 tbsp roasted chana/bengal gram
  • ½ inch ginger, roughly chopped
  • 8-9 curry leaves
  • 1 or 2 green chilies, chopped
  • 1 tbsp oil
  for tempering:
• ½ or ¾ tsp mustard seeds
• 8-9 curry leaves
• a pinch of asafoetida

Instructions

1. heat oil in a small pan.
2. fry the mint leaves, curry leaves and ginger till the mint and curry leaves become crisp.
3. remove this mixture from the pan and let it cool.
4. in a chutney grinder or blender, add the rest of the ingredients along with the fried mint leaves, curry leaves and ginger.
5. add about ¼ or ½ cup water and grind to a smooth paste.
6. in the same pan, add oil if required.

preparing the tempering

1. add the mustard seeds and let them crackle.
2. then add the curry leaves and asafoetida.
3. fry for some seconds.
4. pour the tempering mixture along with the oil in the chutney.
5. stir well and serve mint coconut chutney immediately with idli, dosa or uttapam.

Simple Andhra Pulihora sugessted by Sri Durga Golla and Spinach Masala Vada (Puratasi Perumal Padayal)

Puratasi masam Perumal padayal

Thalu is a offering/padayal for Lord Venkateshwara. The Purattasi month starts last week and it is a famous month for Lord Venkatesh and especially the Saturdays. So last Saturday, the first Saturday of the month of purattasi, we did pooja and in that Thalu is a Special one. Its lika a cocktail – a mixture of all fruits and rice variety…. It tastes heavenly and I simply love it from my childhood days. I havr already posted how to make all other varieties. . But in this post,am gonna let you know Pulihora as suggested by +Sridurga G and Spinach masala vada. .

Instant Oats Idli,Kollu Pairu sundal,Kollu Vada,Kollu Vada Curry

Instant Oats Idli,Kollu Pairu sundal,Kollu Vada,Kollu Vada Curry

 This was my breakfast menu for Diwali. I was not interested in making non veg in the morning because my lunch menu had all NV items and I had lot of crackers to burn. I found this very simple and planned the day before the fest.

Preparation Time: 25min

Cooking Time: 30 min 

Serves: -

Shelf life:1day

Medu Vada

Medu Vada

Medu Vada or simply Vada are crispy fritters made with urad daal and enjoyed with sambar or chutney. They are usually served along side idli as part of a perfect South Indian breakfast, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying these vadas for lunch or dinner.
   
Soaking Time: min 4-6 hours
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: approx 20 minutes
Makes approx 15 vadas

Arachivita Moor Kulambu with Kollu Vadai(Seasoned Curd with Horse Gram Patties)

Arachivita Moor Kulambu with Kollu Vadai(Seasoned Curd with Horse Gram Patties)

Arachivita Moor Kulambu with Kollu Vadai(Seasoned Curd with Horse Gram Patties)

“Arachuvita Kuzhambu”, this phrase always kindles my taste buds. Even though amma makes the most aromatic Sambar podi which enhances each dish she makes with it these fresh ground pastes are podis are always a treat.
Chef Dhamaodaran is one of a person whom I adore so much. This man never looked or cooked like all professional people around here but I am sure his dishes were simply divine. The way he works with the ingredients, handles the vessels will resemble a skilled mother handling a super active child at home. It will look like as if he had tamed every single thing in the kitchen and they’ll listen to him so obediently.Am happy that  I have tried many of his recipes and this is one among them

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 4-5

Horse Gram(Kollu Paruppu) Vadai

 Horse Gram(Kollu Paruppu) Vadai

Horse Gram in diet is good for women. It is especially good for obesity. It reduces weight by its hot potency. Its an excellent source of iron and also very heat to body. It can be taken twice a week . We can do many recipes using Horse Gram like rasam, Chutney, sundals and also can be taken with salads .

Preparation Time: 15min

Cooking Time: 15min  
Serves: 2    
Shelf life:-
Serving Suggestion: serve them with coconut chutney or tomato sauce.

Mor kuzhambu with vadai

 Mor kuzhambu with vadai

I did not plan anything to be honest and I decided to make my work simple yet something special for the weekend. So chose it to be mor kuzhambu with vadai . Mor kuzhambu is very easy to make, only work is the vada. That is easy too, because no need to worry about the shapes ;) Here is the simple receipe.

Prep Time: 15-20 mins
Cooking Time: 20-30 mins
Makes: For 2
Shelf Life: 1 Day
Serving Suggestion: We had this with Ladies finger fry and it tasted awesome.