Cauliflower Malligai | Cauliflower maligai

I watch TV cookery shows(lets make that watched, shall we..), the favorite being Donna Hay's fast, fresh and simple, Nigella Kitchen and ofcourse our Tamil cookery shows. Back when I was in India, amma and me used to never miss a show of the Kitchen Superstars that got telecasted in Vijay TV, not because we loved the show but to compare it with Masterchef Australia. But then again I liked the show because amma and me used to spend some quality time together.

This recipe, we saw it in the "Masterclass" that the judges held for the contestants. It sounded simple and different from the regular manchurians or pakodas or fritters that we make with cauliflower and so amma decided to give it a go. Moreover we had a whole bunch of fresh coriander leaves which had to be used up and so the recipe sounded just right.

~*What U Need*~ To grind: Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup Mint leaves - 1/4 cup Green chilli - 1 Ginger - 1" piece Garlic cloves - 2 Curry leaves - 2 sprigs Salt Cornflour - 1/4 cup Gram flour - 2 tbsp Rice flour - 2 tbsp Cauliflower florets - 1 cup Oil Green chilli - 1 Curry leaves - 1 sprig Thick curd - 1 tbsp Water, salt, turmeric powder How I Made it: Grind all the ingredients under 'to grind' to a paste. Soak cauliflower florets in water with salt and turmeric powder for 15 mins. After 15 mins, drain water and pat dry with a kitchen towel. Add the paste to the cauliflower along with the cornflour, gram flour and rice flour. Mix well, season with salt and allow to marinate for 15 mins. Heat oil and fry the florets till golden brown. In a kadai, add 1 tsp oil, add the slit green chillies and then the yogurt. After 2 mins, add the fried cauliflower florets and toss well.

Serve warm as starter!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Microwave Masala Peanuts | Masala Kadalai | Microwave Cooking

Me and the huss are not hard-core tea people. It is not a must that we need tea or coffee for our evenings. Saturdays and Sundays are exceptional, and so are rainy days. Hot coffee and hot hot bajjis are a must for the huss when it rains. And seldom the craving hits me too. And so I make coffee, fry potato and onion bajjis, pour coffee into our coffee cups and we cosy up on the couch.

I can still remember the day when amma and me walked in the blowing winds and heavy downpour to get a packet of Sunrise coffee just because we were out of instant coffee. Even the shop owner was speechless when he came to know that all we wanted was a packet of coffee. Yeah, rainy days call for coffee and good day biscuits for us and we are so addicted to the combo till date.

I came across this recipe for microwave masala peanuts sometime back and had bookmarked to try it. As usual it got lost among the other bookmarked recipes in time. Weekends when I am too bored, I go through my bookmarked folder looking for recipes that can be made in a jiffy and then I came across this... Sounded easy and just perfect for our evening tea. Also its healthy when compared to the versions which are deep-fried in oil. I have added my own touches by adding crushed garlic and some curry leaves.

~*What U Need*~ Gram flour - 1 cup Raw peanuts - 1 cup Chilli powder - 1 tbsp Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp Garlic pods, crushed - 1 tbsp Hing powder - a pinch Curry leaves - 1 sprig Oil - 3 tbsp Water - 1/4 cup Salt - to taste

How I Made it:
In a microwave safe bowl, add all the ingredients except oil and water. Mix well, pour oil and stir well. Slowly add water and mix it till it coats well on the peanuts. Then microwave it for 2 mins. Take it out and stir it using a fork. Again heat it for 1 min. Repeat the process till it becomes crispy. It take around 6 to 8 mins.

Serve with chaai!!!

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Besan ka Laddoos | Diwali Sweet Recipes

Yaaayyy... I got my lappy back. Its fixed, serviced and back in full motion waiting with pleasure to serve its master. My happiness knew no bounds when the service guy called me up and told that the issue is fixable. Oh, I had all my blogging pics and munchkins latest pics in my lappy and had not taken any backup and was dreading that I would miss all those treasures. So I was jumping with joy when the service person told me that the display could be fixed.
Okay, back to business ~ I have loads to post. Ammas recipes, recipes tried for Diwali ~ a whole lot is pending. So with the whole blogging world coming to a halt in posting Diwali sweets and snacks, here I am starting my part. Its gonna be Diwali sweets and snacks for the days to come and a fudgy one bowl milk chocolate brownie recipe adapted from baking bites which I had whipped up in minutes to gift to my friends and family.

Lets move on to the first of the lot ~ Besan Laddoo. I have already mentioned tat my huss is a ghee-aholic!!! As if that is a word, but that is what I can think of to describe him. He loves all sweets loaded with ghee and so he loves Diwali. Frequent visits to Adyar Ananda Bhavan and Sri Krishna sweets in the pretext to buy sweets for friends and our house is stacked with ghee sweets from which he keeps stealing a goodie an hour. I wanted to make a homemade ghee sweet for him and was intending to make the Ghee mysore pak that is doing the rounds in the blogsphere but then I had other priorities to be taken care for and hence settled for this simple yet flavorful besan laddoo. Its ladden with ghee and so satisfied his taste buds!!! The only point to be taken care of is roasting the besan flour which can be easily handled provided you keep an eye on the pan every minute of the roasting time.

Makes - 8 to 10 laddoos ~*What U Need*~ Gram flour / Kadalai maavu - 1 cup Sugar - 3/4 cup Ghee / Clarified butter - 1/4 cup Cashewnuts - 10

How I Made it:
Sieve the gram flour to remove lumps. In a non-stick kadai, add a tsp of ghee and fry the broken nuts till golden brown. Remove and set aside. Add the besan flour to it and roast in medium flame till changes color and the raw smell goes off and a nice aroma wafts.

Melt the ghee in a separate kadai. Take a mixing bowl, add the fried nuts and besan flour to it. Powder the sugar and add this to the bowl. Add the hot ghee to this slowly. Mix with a wooden spoon. When it becomes hand bearable, mix well and make medium sized balls.

Serve with love!!!

** My Notes:
** Be careful when roasting the flour, it should be brown and take care not to burn it.
** Do the entire process in medium flame.
** Always add the ghee when hot. This heat melts the sugar and helps in binding.
** I used a mixture of sliced cashews, almonds, pistachios and raisins.
** U can add a pinch of cardamom powder too.

So thats it Folks...
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(Amma Cooks) Omapodi / Ompodi / Sev ~ Diwali Snacks

Okay so I think you would have read the blog title and would have an idea on whose recipe this is. Yes, its amma's. I suck at making traditional recipes and hence when amma comes over to visit us she makes loads of snacks like this, murukku, rosette cookies, diamond cuts and many more. When she came over for Diwali, I knew that she would come loaded with snacks as it was the festive season and that is how she turned up. So you are gonna see an authentic "Amma cooks" series for the next week.
Since it was done by amma, I will not be able to put up the step wise pictorial for this series. But if anytime in the future, I pick up the courage to try them on my own, I will surely update these recipes.
So lets move on to the first in the series, Ompodi, a crunchy snack loved by adults and kids equally. I love to have this plain or topped on chaats or dump loads on to hot black tea, allow them to soak for 5 mins and then eat em. I know it sounds bizzare but thats how I we love it.

~*What U Need*~ Besan flour - 1 cup Rice flour - 2 tbsp Ajwain(Omam) - 1 tsp Hot oil - 1 tbsp Salt - to taste Oil - for deep frying

How I Made it:
Dry roast ajwain for 2 mins till a nice aroma comes. Soak this in 2 tbsp warm water for 15 mins. Grind and strain this. Set the water aside. Sieve besan flour and rice flour into a mixing bowl. Add the ajwain water, hot oil and required salt and mix it. Adding water little by little, form a soft sticky dough. Fill the dough in your sev press till 3/4th. Heat oil and press the dough starting from the corners like a murukku finishing in the middle. Once cooked on one side, flip and cook till the bubbles cease. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Drain in tissue paper, cool and store in airtight containers.

Serve with tea or top it on your favorite chaats.

** My Notes:
** Check if the oil is hot by dropping a small piece of dough in the oil. If it immediately comes to the top, then the oil is ready.
** You can use a finer press too.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Egg Pav + 2 chaat chutneys

Bombay street foods are just awesome... You can never have enough of them... my favorite being Vada Pav. The yummy potato stuffing in between the soft breads together with the tangy and spicy chutneys can never go wrong. But times are there when I feel too lazy to grab a potato, boil it, mash it, dip it and fry it. That is when I come up with other substitutes for the vada in the vada pav and that is when I made this egg pav. It was easy to make and fulfilled the craving with a twist.
I haven't posted the recipes for dates tamarind chutney and garlic coconut chutney and so the recipe follows here.

Battered and fried egg sandwiched between spicy n tangy chutneys and a dinner roll

Dates Tamarind chutney
~*What U Need*~
Dates - 10
Tamarind - 1 tbsp
Jaggery - 3/4 tbsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1 tsp

How I Made it:
Pressure cook dates and tamarind with very little water for 2 whistles. Grind dates to a smooth paste. Extract thick pulp from tamarind and mix with dates mixture. Take a kadai/pan add dates tamarind paste, then add jaggery and bring it to a boil. Now add red chilli powder and roasted jeera powder and give another boil till the chutney becomes thick like sauce consistency. Switch off and store it in clean container, refrigerate until use.

Garlic Coconut Chutney
~*What U Need*~
Garlic – 5 cloves
Dessicated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Chilli Powder - 1 tbsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind paste – 1 tsp
Olive Oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste

How I Made it:
Blend everything in a blender to a coarse mixture as shown in pic. Store in air tight container. You can use this as a sidedish for idlis, dosas too.

Egg Pav
~*What U Need*~
Pav Buns - 4
Hard Boiled eggs - 2

Dates Tamarind chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav
Garlic Coconut chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav
Green chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav

For outer coating:
Gram flour - 1/4 cup
Rice flour - 1 tbsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - to deep fry

How I Made it:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the outer coating section. Add little water and bring it to a consistency similar to the bajjis' outer coating. U must be able to coat the eggs with this mixture. Take the eggs, cut into half, dip it into the flour mixture and deep fry it till golden brown

How I assembled the pav:
Cut the buns into halves using a serrated knife. Take care that one end is still intact with the other bun. Apply the green chutney to one side and red chutney to the other side. Place one tbsp of garlic chutney, place the egg over this as shown.

Enjoy your egg pavs for snack. Its easy and yummy.

So thats it Folks...
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Spring Onion in Besan Flour Stir Fry

The only use of spring onions that I know of is garnishing mainly manchurian dishes. I knew that its crunchy, gives a nice aroma and increases the overall flavor of the dish. Whenever I get a bunch of spring onions, I use it minimally and the rest will be left unused finally to meet its end at the dustbin. So I stopped getting spring onions itself. Then I came across this recipe from Jeyashris kitchen and I was instantly hooked to it. So got a bunch of spring onions and tried this. To my dismay the huss had an instant liking to this recipe that whenever we go grocery shopping, he runs to grab a bunch and demands this dish to be made.

~*What U Need*~
Spring Onion - 1 bunch
Besan / Kadalai maavu - 2 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt to taste

How I made it:
Wash and chop the spring onions very finely. In a kadai, heat oil, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves and allow to splutter. Now add the chopped spring onions and stir well. Add salt and mix well. Allow this to cook till it becomes dry.
Add the besan, red chilli powder and garam masala at this stage and mix well. Saute well till the besan gets cooked and the mixture looks dry and non sticky.

Serve as a side dish for rice. We had this with dhal and it was a nice combination.

So thats it Folks...
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Cabbage fritters / bajji

I am addicted to any kind of bajjis(cauliflower, raw banana, onions, anything). Give me a plateful and I would settle down speechless with a hot cup of chai. When amma had to leave immediately due to personal emergency and when I was left with a whole kg of cabbage and when the huss got bored of the repeating cabbage thorans, I was left with no other option but to find a frying alternative for the rest. That is when I came up with this idea. These make a perfect snack / side dish. Another bajji recipe into my kitty.

I had this as an accompaniment for curd rice for lunch box. Was done with the cooking in half an hour. So you can rely on this combo when you are in a hurry.

~*What U Need*~
Cabbage(chopped) - 1 cup
Gram flour - 3 tablespoons
Rice flour - 1 1/2 tablespoon
Corn flour - 1 tablespoon (Added to give crispiness)
Chilli powder - as needed
Salt - to taste
Baking soda - 1/4 teaspoon
Oil - to fry

How I Made it:
Mix all the above ingredients and marinate for 10 minutes. Deep fry in oil. Place in paper towel, drain the excess oil and serve hot with tomato ketchup.

So thats it Folks...
With Love,

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Tricolor Bread Bajji for Independence Day

Sometimes your innovation goes out-of-bounds and you relate two completely different themes and come out with something new. I wanted to make a dish by which I could bring together food and the theme for today. Just like all my Indian blog friends playing around with ingredients to replicate our Indian flag on the plate.
Thats how this bajji came into being. To be frank this is not my own creation. A recipe which I adapted from a famous snack stall @ my place and put in some this and that to make it a more yummier version. The stall that sells bread bajjis usually apply a "very" thin coating of mint chutney in between the two slices and then fry it. So I made a stuffing, more mint chutney and some tomato sauce.. voila! Got a hybrid version.

Now to the patriotic note. Where-ever u may be, I have noted that Indians show their love towards their nation either thro' their FB status or personal blogs on days like this. That is how Indians are made. U be in Chennai or Delhi or California or Denmark, U don't forget the love you have for ur country. Happy and proud to be born as an Indian, I salute to the nation, our motherland and to all my co-Indians.

Makes - 3
~*What U Need*~
For the potato filling:
Potatoes - 1(Medium)
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste

For the outer coating:
Bajji / Bonda mix - 1 cup
Or
Gram flour - 5 heaped tbsps
Rice flour - 1 1/2 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 tbsp (Added to give crispiness)
Chilli powder - as needed
Salt - to taste
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Oil - to fry
Red food color - a pinch optional

Wheat / Sandwich bread slices - 3
Tomato Ketchup - 3 tbsps
Green chutney - 3 tbsps
Oil

How I Made it:
Boil and mash the potato well. To this add all the powders and salt and mix well. Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the Coating section to a batter consistency. The batter should be such that it should coat the bread slices evenly when dipped in.
To assemble the bread slices, cut the bread slices into half diagonally. Now apply the green chutney to one side and tomato sauce to the other side as shown below. Take a ball of the potato stuffing and even it over the bread slice.

Close this with the other bread slice. Dip it in the coating mixture evenly and fry it in oil.

Serve hot with some mint yogurt chutney!!!


Sending this to Serve it - Fried Event held at Krithi's Kitchen and Ohtastensee



So thats it Folks...
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Vada Pav | The ever famous Bombay ka street food

Vada Pav - Naam tho sunaa tha(a famous SRK dialogue ;) ) magar idar nahi mila. Only very few outlets in Chennai sell this simple, yummy street food. But nothing can beat the taste of the ones that you get from a vada pav wala seated by the streets of Mumbai. My dad lived in Mumbai in his early years and he used to tell us how tasty the VP's of Mumbai were. He used to tell that it was one of the staple food of Mumbaites and workers returning home used to munch on these, thus completing their dinner. Eating 2 or 3 VP's would subside the hunger, said he.

Growing up hearing to these stories, eating a Mumbai VP had always been a dream to me. A dream which came true when I visited my new born niece and nephew 2 years back. As soon as I set foot in Mumbai airport, I called up my uncle and asked him to get a couple of them. And he did it laughingly. God, those ppl didn't understand how much I craved for these. Went home, took a shower and freshened up. All through these times, my mind was racing towards the garama garam VP's. I wanted to have them hot with a cuppa chaai.

So finally when I sat back and took a bite out of it, ohhhh god. It was similar to a LAYS ad (No one can eat just one). Yeah, the hot and extreme spiciness suppressed by the tangy and sweet chutney cleaned the palate tickling the taste buds for more. I just loved it. When I came back, I missed the VPs more, than my relatives. After I started food blogging and got to know more dishes, I wanted to try this out but controlled the hotness as Mr.A is not a great fan of spicy dishes. Even then, he wanted something mildly sweet to wash it down and I made some mango milkshake.

Recipe Source :Tarla DalalMakes - 4 wholesome vada pavs ~*What U Need*~ Pav Buns - 4 Chat Chutneys: Red chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav Green chutney - 1 tbsp for each pav For the vadas : Potatoes - 2(Medium) Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp Onion - 1(Medium) Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander leaves - 2 tsp(chopped) Hing powder - a pinch Salt - to taste Oil - 2 tsp For Vada outer coating: Gram flour - 1/4 cup Rice flour - 1 tbsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Salt - to taste Oil - to deep fry

How I Made it:

The Vadas:
Pressure cook the potatoes for 2 - 3 whistles, peel the skin and mash it well. Chop the onions finely. Heat oil in a kadai, add mustard seeds and jeera and allow it to splutter. Add onions and saute till it turns lightly browned. Add ginger garlice paste and fry till the raw smell goes off.
Add the chilli powder and saute for few mins. Then add mashed potatoes, turmeric powder and mix well. Add chopped coriander leaves and mix well. Cool the mixture and combine well with hands. Make 4 equal balls.

The Vada coating:
Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the vada outer coating section. Add little water and bring it to a consistency similar to the bajjis' outer coating. U must be able to coat the vadas uniformly with this mixture. Take the balls, flatten them a bit, dip it into the flour mixture and deep fry it till golden brown

How I assembled the vada pav:
Cut the buns into halves using a serrated knife. Take care that one end is still intact with the other bun. Apply the green chutney to one side and red chutney to the other side. Keep the prepared vadas in between as shown and enjoy your vada pavs.

Tips:
If you make the chutneys before hand, then toasting the vada and assembling the vada pav is half an hours work.
You can store the chutneys till 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
If you want the vada pav to be more flavorful, you can toast the insides of the pav in butter. This makes the dish more rich and tasty. This is a suggestion from my huss which I think will surely work. Gonna try this next time.

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