Potato Peas Frankie / Wrap

I had some leftover potato peas mixture from the cutlet recipe and we were not interested in having cutlets for tea-time. Not wanting to waste it, I was bugging the huss for ideas on what to do and he was giving cold stares in return... ooh he was doing some office work by the way but that didn't stop me from nudging him :)))

He wasn't ready to share the sys and I was deliberate to get it from him as I wanted to search for some recipes and there was a heated argument going between the both. Finally he gave in and I was asked to give back the PC in 5 mins time. Brrrrr.. 5 mins to search for recipes, drill down and finalize on the wanted one. But I knew it was possible as I knew wat I was gonna search for.

I had always wanted to make a frankie and knew that this was the perfect time. I just wanted to browse for "How to assemble a frankie" and then I was ready to push away the sys and head for the kitchen. I adapted the recipe for Nits 4th sense cooking with slight changes.

~What U Need*~ Potato peas cutlet mixture(Click here for recipe) For assembling Frankie Onions(large) - 1 Chaat Masala - 1/2 tsp Amchur powder - 1/4 tsp Water - 3 tbsp Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp Amchur powder - 1 tsp Salt - a pinch Lemon Juice Tomato Ketchup - as needed Chapathis

How I Made it:
Pinch equal amounts of the potato peas mixture and make oval shaped tikkis. In a non stick tawa, roast them on both sides by adding few drops of oil.
Chop the onions finely and mix with chaat masala and amchur powder. Set aside.
Mix water, chilli powder, amchur powder and salt till the salt dissolves. Set aside.

Lets assemble:
Place chapathi on a plate. Keep two tikkis in the center. Sprinkle the onion masala mixture on top of the tikkis. Squeeze lemon juice on top and then drizzle a tsp of chilli water mixture on the tikkis.

Now spoon some tomato ketchup on top. Roll the chapathi tightly and wrap it up with foil.

Serve immediately.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Cold Apple & Candied Walnut Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing

Salads are my weakness. Rather than going for idli/chapathi, I would prefer having a refreshing bowl of salad with fresh veggies / fruits and a simple salad dressing. I prefer red wine for my salads while the huss needs something creamy and yummy (and that has to be mayonnaise... not 1 tbsp but by dollops).
This salad came out when we wanted to have something light yet creamy, not fried, nil of sugar and with added frutis. It is simple to whip up and the salad is cold, refreshing and crunchy.

~*What U Need*~
For the salad
Cubed Apples - 1 cup
Candied Walnuts - a handful

For the dressing
Hung Yogurt - 3 tbsps
Honey/Sugar - to taste (I used honey)
Lime juice - few drops
Chaat masala - to taste
Salt - a pinch

How I Made it:
Mix ingredients under dressing in a large bowl. With this mix the cubed apple pieces and refrigerate till use.
When serving, tip the apple mix on to a serving plate, spread the candied walnuts and garnish with a sprinkle of chaat masala and lime juice.

Serve cold.

Sending this to Fruit Fiesta held at Ramya's Recipe, Cook Eat Delicious Dessert at Sensible vegetarian and Raven’s Blog: CookEatDelicious.com, Summer Splash Event held by Sangeetha originally started by Kalyani



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Britannia Multigrain thins - a product review and chaat variety

We love britannia products, the common favorite being its 5 grain biscuits and digestive biscuits, the huss being a fan of their classic lite crackers and I use their digestive biscuits for all my biscuit bases. So when they came up with their new product, Multigrain thins, I was we were determined to get hold of a packet and try them. We chose the tomato and herb flavor and a bite was enough to like the product totally. They were soft, crunchy and filled with flavors but we felt that there was more salt. So the next time when I got it I tried to contradict the overpowering salt content by making a simple chaat out of it.

This comes in 3 flavors - Classic Indian Spice, Herb Tomato and Lime and Mint. We preferred the Herb tomato of the lot.
Disclaimer: This is not a paid review / company recommended review. I have posted the review out of my own interest and experiences.

So coming to the chaat that I tried out of the thins.

~*What U Need*~
Britannia Multigrain thins - 1 packet
I used Herb Tomato flavor
Onion(medium) - 1/2
Tomato(medium) - 1/2
Chopped coriander leaves - 2 tbsps
Curd - 1/4 cup
Salt, Pepper, Chaat masala - to taste
Sev / Omapodi - as needed
Chaat Green chutney & Red chutney - optional

How I Made it:
Coarsely break the multigrain thins into smaller pieces. Chop the onions and tomatoes finely. Mix the curd well with some salt.
Spread the thins on a serving plate. Sprinkle onions, tomatoes and coriander leaves on top. Sprinkle some salt, pepper and chaat masala. Pour 1-2 tbsps of curd on top followed by the sev.

Serve as evening snack. You can also add some chaat green and red chutney for an increased flavor.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Potato Stuffed Bread Balls.. toasted not fried

I generally hesitate to deep fry bread as it sucks loads of oil. But fried bread has this crunchy and soft texture which I love. Last week when I tried the cheesy bread balls I knew that I would never repeat deep frying bread in the near future. So came up with this method of toasting the bread balls in a paniyaram pan. Was not equivalent to the deep fried ones but was no less in taste too. It was crunchy, well toasted, not oily and soft in the inside.

~*What U Need*~
Potato - 1(large)
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Chat masala - 1/4 tsp
Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Bread slices - 6
Water - to dip
Oil

How I Made it:
Pressure cook the potato for 3 whistles. Peel off the skin and mash well. Add the garam masala, chat masala, tomato sauce, chilli powder and salt (adjust according to taste).
Dip the bread slices in water for 1 second. Squeeze out the excess water and flatten it. Place a generous amount of the potato masala mixture in the center, close the edges and roll into balls.
Heat paniyaaram pan, add oil. Now drop in the bread balls and toast till evenly brown. Alternatively you can deep fry in oil also.

Serve hot with ketchup.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

Signs off

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Potato Sandwich... it's simple

Deciding whats to be on our breakfast plate is a tedious job for me. What with all the early morning office commotion going on, with the huss yelling for his morning coffee and paper followed by the bath towel and then the search for the mis-placed id card. Ooooofff... It drives me crazy. I don't even want to start about the me-getting-ready-to-office part.
I had this whole loaf of bread and hence this week's breakfast menu was taken care of. One day it was jam filling, the next was egg and then repetitions. Never did I think that the huss would become frustrated with these repetitions and ask for a change or would go to the level of skipping breakfast. :( That is when I thought of trying my hands on new varieties of sandwiches. So here comes the first and simple of the lot.

~*What U Need*~
Potato - 1(large)
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Chat masala - 1/4 tsp
Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Wheat / White Bread slices - 6

How I Made it:
Pressure cook the potato for 3 whistles. Peel of the skin and mash well. Add the garam masala, chat masala, tomato sauce, chilli powder and salt (adjust according to taste).
Place a generous amount of this mixture onto a bread slice. Spread evenly, cover with another bread slice. Toast till evenly brown on both sides.

Serve with ketchup.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Jal Jeera Paani | A refreshing summer drink

Mr.A makes it a point that we eat out atleast twice a month... Now thats atleast :)... We usually eat every weekend these days... Come on.. With all the most expected films releasing every week. We had Pirates of Caribbean and then Kung-fu Panda 2 in a row.
Both of us love kebabs for no reason... They are laded with flavors and we both join hands to pour our love towards RESHMI KEBAB... So as the tale goes, we love kebabs and we usually visit the Kebab Court @ Velachery...

But then I got bored, Hubby got bored and so for a change we visited the Dhaba (of Karaikudi Restaurant). We went in, ordered our starters and were waiting... waiting for a surprise... Surprised we were, when the waiter came and served us Jaljeera paani in mud pots. It was me who first blurted out "We didn't order this" when the waiter laughed and declared it as a compliment... Oh yeah that's cool. We had a sip.. another... and yet another... Sips turned out to become glasses (in this case, pots). Finally we ended up with 3 pots each... The moral of the story, we were totally in love with the drink. So drilled down to a recipe after googling and tried it at home... We loved this one too...

Serves - 2

~*What U Need*~
Mint leaves - 10 sprigs
Coriander Leaves - a small bunch (say 15 sprigs)
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Chat masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Dry Mango / Amchur Powder - 1/2 tbsp
Sugar - a pinch

Chilled water - 2 cups

How I made it:

Grind Mint Leaves and coriander leaves in blender to fine paste. Save few pinches of coarse mixture for garnishing.
To this, add 2 cups of chilled water, chaat masala, salt, mango powder, sugar and cumin powder. Add lemon juice.
Stir the mixture well.
Add the coarse mixture of mint+coriander leaves

Server chilled.

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Tender Cucumber Salad with Red Wine dressing

The summer has set in with full violence but the good news !!! it has brought on melons, tangy sweet mangoes and of course tender cucumbers in abundance. Cucumber is a perfect cooler for the season and what is best than making a refreshing salad with a simple red wine dressing. Sounds yum na!!! That’s what I made when I got a half kg of tender cucumbers.
Huss always wants mayonnaise to be added to the salads which I didn’t prefer for this salad. I just wanted a mouthful of freshness. So pan-fried some paneer cubes and topped off his salad with this. And he loved it!!!

~*What U Need*~

Tender cucumbers / Vellari Pinji – ¼ kg
Lettuce Leaves – a bunch
Capsicum(julienned) – ½ cup
Salt – to taste
Pepper – a pinch
Chaat masala – a pinch

For Salad Dressing
Olive Oil – 2 tbsp
Red Wine – 3 tbsp
Apple Cider Vinegar – ½ tsp

Optional
Paneer cubes – 10-12
Ginger Garlic Paste – ½ tsp
Oil – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste

How I Made it
Slice the cucumbers thinly. Cut the lettuce leaves. Add the julienne-d capsicum and mix well.

Add the salt and pepper and combine well.
To this add the ingredients in the salad dressing and give it a stir.

Lets prepare the paneer now!!! Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger garlic paste and sauté till the raw smell goes off.
Add the salt, give it a stir and add the paneer cubes.
Allow it to cook to brown on every sides.
Add the pepper and toss it. Don’t use spoon to work on the paneer, just gently toss it around.
This step is purely optional. I skipped this for my salad.

Add the sautéed paneer cubes on top of the salad. Sprinkle some chaat masala and serve immediately.

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Dahi Vada / Thayir Vadai

I hate ulundu vadas as such but I love thayir/sambar vada very much… The vada filled with the flavor of curd/sambar with a melt-in-the-mouth texture is one of my favorites. I would say that my dad makes the perfect and best vadas, a compliment that my mom has always envied. Oh mom!! U r the best cook in the world… Except for the vadas dear… This is wat I would say often. Usually I used to call my mom for any recipe but this time, I contacted a different person… My DAD.

Mrs. A: Hi Mom!!! Wat r u doing???
Mom: Hi dear… Gonna get ready for my evening nap.
Mrs. A: Oh cool.. I called up to get a recipe.
Mom: Oh!!! Tell me dear… which one?
Mrs. A: Can you please pass on the phone to DAD? I wanna get the recipe of Thayir vada.
Mom: Grrrrrrrrr…… Call up your Dad’s number…

And then the phone went dead… Oh my… She hates when I compliment dad for food. So I called up my dad and got the recipe… But I needed ages of cajoling to cool down my mom.

~*What U Need*~

For the Vadas
Urad dhal – 1 cup
Onion – 1
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Green chilli – 1
Ginger – a small piece
Salt – to taste
Oil for frying

For the Curd Seasoning
Finely Chopped Onions – 1 cup
Grated carrot – ½ cup
Chopped coriander leaves – ½ cup
Thick curd – 1 cup
Salt – to taste
Omapodi / Sev – 1 cup

For each serving
Pepper – a pinch
Chaat Masala – a pinch

How I made

Vada
Clean and Soak the urad dhal for 1 ½ hours
Grind to a smooth mixture sprinkling little amount of water from time to time.
Chop the onions, green chillies, and ginger finely.
Coarsely chop the curry leaves.
Mix all this with the urad dhal mixture and beat till fluffy.
Wet your hands with some water and shape the mixture into vadas.
Fry in hot oil till evenly browned.

Serve hot with coconut chutney / sambar!!!

Thayir Vadai
Beat the curd and salt into a smooth mixture adding some water. The curd should be in semi-liquid consistency.

Line the vadas in a large bowl. Pour the curd on top till the vadas are 3/4th immersed.
Sprinkle generously onions on top followed by grated carrot and coriander leaves.
Sprinkle omapodi aka sev on top. I generally dump sev on my vadais.

Allow the vadais to soak for atleast half an hour. This will make the vadai soft and filled with the flavor of the curd.

When serving, place the thayir vadais in individual plates, pour some curd over it, scoop out the veggies & omapodi and top the vadais. U can have this as a snack or for breakfast... I prefer the latter.

Sprinkle some more fresh and crispy omapodi again, some coriander leaves, a pinch of chat powder and pepper and serve.

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Dahi Peanut Sundal / Chat and a Lovely award

I have been given another award and it makes my blog look lovely... Yeah... you are right... I got another "One lovely blog award" from two other lovely fellow bloggers. Fajeeda of Faji's Hot Pot and South Indian Home. Thanks dearies...

So now on to the rules.. It is simple... Read on to know abt it...

Rules of the award:
1.Accept the award. Blog about it with the name of the blogger who has given u this award with a link to his/her blog.
2.Pass it on to 15 other blogger friends.... to take it forward.
3.Let the nominated blogger know about their award

Here comes the most difficult part... Choosing 15 lovely fellow bloggers and passing on the award. Sorry guys if I missed out some of you... I am limited to picking 15 only. :(
I am passing this award to:

Deepa of Hamaree Rasoi
Divya of Dil Se
Sonali of Only Fish Recipes
Sensible Veg
Prema of Prema's Thaligai
Tina of Kaipunyam
Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen
Aruna of Veggie Paradise
Malar of Kitchen Tantra
Kurinji of Kurinji Kathambam
Aipi of US Masala
Prathima of Prats Corner
Umm Mymoonah of Taste of Pearl City
Jay of Tasty Apetite
SunshineandSmile
Kristen of Frugal Antics of a harried homemaker

Dear friends, pls pick up the award and keep the ball rolling.

So here comes the recipe...
When my husband was pestering me to make him some snack yesterday evening, I was not sure what to make. We have been having quite a lot of fried foods lately and so I was ruling out all the possible options of a snack when this recipe suddenly struck me. If alone I gave my Huss boiled peanuts, he would have killed me with his stare. He is still a kid. Needs something tasty, colorful and very new. While boiled peanuts are still the main ingredient, I just made it a bit colorful and different.

This is a healthy chat and can be a good evening snack.

Serves – 2; Preparation time – 7 mins (5 + 2 for chopping & mixing)

~* Ingredients *~

Boiled peanuts – 1 cup

Finely chopped Onions – a handful

Finely chopped tomatoes – a handful

Thick Curd – 2 tablespoons

Chaat Masala – to taste

Salt – to taste

Pepper - as needed

Chopped coriander leaves

The Making:

Mix all the above ingredients and garnish with coriander leaves.

Kid’s Special:

When serving to kids, you may add some Omapodi aka sev on top.

Adding the Peanuts Widget from Foodista as guided by Alisha. Thanks a ton Alisha for giving me this opportunity and adding me to Foodista

Peanuts

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