Chicken Puffs

I mostly sip on some loaded green smoothie for my lunch and so by the time the huss returns from work, I become extremely hungry and start rampaging the kitchen snack cabinet. I try my level best to stick to fruits but sometimes I give in and make some hot hot bhajis or chicken puffs for our tea time. Thanks to the readymade puff pastries available here, making puffs at home is a breeze and more economical than the Indian store bought-ones. The filling is a breeze to make and highly customizable, you can skip the chicken if you are a vegetarian or you could replace the chicken with gobi. The sky is your limit here, my friend.

~*What U Need*~ Chicken - 1 cup, cooked and shredded Oil - 1 tbsp Onion - 1 cup, finely sliced Tomato - 1, chopped Coriander - a handful, chopped Curry leaves - 1 sprig Green chilli - 1, sliced Beans - 4-5, chopped Carrot - 1, chopped Ginger garlic paste -1 tsp Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp Coriander powder - 1 tsp Cumin powder - 1/8 tsp Salt Puff pastry sheets - 1 full sheet, thawed and cut into squares. How I Made it: Heat oil in a nonstick pan, add chilli and saute for a min. Add onions and stir-fry till cooked down and brown. Add ginger–garlic paste, and curry leaves and cook for 1 minute. Add and cook the tomatoes until soft and mushy. Add carrot and bean and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the spice powders and a splash of water and cook for 2-3 mins. Add the cooked meat and stir everything and cook for 3-4 mins. Remove from heat, add the coriander leaves. Preheat oven to 350F. Roll the puff pastry to flatten it a bit. Spoon 1 tbsp of filling in the middle. Close the puff pastry using water to stick it. Egg wash it once and bake for 15 to 20 mins till golden brown and puffy. Serve warm with some ketchup!!!

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Cinnamon Sugar Tortilla Chips

I love cinnamon in anything. Like apples and cinnamon and then cinnamon rolls and then these cinnamon loaded tortilla chips, which is a new favorite. I had a few leftover corn tortillas lying in my fridge and since there were no takers, I thought of cranking them up a bit. And these chips happened. Crunchy, sweet, cinnamon-y and perfect to accompany your cup of hot chocolate. With the weather turning cold every passing day, you should really try this for your evening tea skipping the tea ofcourse.

~*What U Need*~ Corn tortillas - 8 Melted butter - 1 tbsp Sugar - 4 tbsp Cinnamon - 2 tsp How I made it: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter, set aside. In another small bowl stir together the cinnamon & sugar. Set aside. Brush the tortillas with melted butter. Stack the tortillas one over the other and cut into 8 triangles. Dip into the cinnamon sugar mixture and place on a baking sheet. Repeat with every triangle. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden brown and crispy. Allow to cool completely.

Top with melted chocolate and serve!!!

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Falafel & Pita Sandwich

I am part of this cooking challenge, "Ssshhhh Cooking secretly" which was started by Priya akka of Priya's versatile recipes. Every month, we are paired with a different blogger and two ingredients are shared secretly between them. You could chose either one or cook with both the ingredients. The final recipes are revealed on 16th - 18th of every month. I was interested in the challenge because this way I could get to know and interact with new bloggers and so I was in. This month I was paired with Janani of Redchillycurry and she gave me two options ~ sweet potato and chickpeas. I immediately knew what I would be picking and what I would make with the same.

Falafel has been in my to-do list for a really long time. To those who don't know what falafel is here is what wiki says "Falafel is a traditional Middle Eastern food, usually served in a pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flatbread known as lafa; "falafel" also frequently refers to a wrapped sandwich that is prepared in this way". When I was in the Gulf, this was a staple at home and a favorite too. I totally loved recreating those memories at home. I got the pita breads from the store but I will be trying them soon at home and ofcourse sharing it here too...

~*What U Need*~ Chickpeas - 1 cup, soaked overnight Spring onions - 3 Coriander leaves - 1 handful Garlic cloves - 2 Green chilli - 1 Coriander powder - 1 tsp Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste Pita breads - 5 Sliced onions, cabbage, tomato Hummus or mayo How I Made it: Soak chickpeas overnight. Drain and pat dry. In a blender, add the chickpeas and the rest of ingredients and blend to a coarse paste. Form balls and deep fry in hot oil till evenly brown. Or you could shallow fry with little oil in a paniyaaram pan. To serve slightly warm the pita breads, stuff with veggies and the falafel, top with hummus or mayo.

Serve warm!!!

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Chicken Kheema Cutlet

Cutlets are always a favorite in my house be it vegetable or chicken. I have made chicken cutlets previously but I usually use cooked shredded chicken. This time when I was planning to make chicken cutlets for our snack I saw a pack of minced meat hiding in the freezer and thus born these addictive chicken kheema cutlets. You could either deep fry the cutlets or shallow fry them like kebabs. Either way they are delicious when served warm but the deep fried ones scores full marks over the kebab style ones, always...calorie conscious ppl, pls keep away :)

~*What U Need*~ Chicken kheema/minced meat - 1/2 lb Onion - 1, finely chopped Potato - 1, boiled and mashed Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tbsp Red chilli powder - 1 tsp Garam masala powder - 1 tsp Turmeric powder - a pinch Salt Egg - 1, whisked Breadcrumbs - to coat Oil - to shallow or deep fry How I Made it: Thaw kheema as per directions. Take it in a pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles by adding some water. Remove and seat aside. Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When brown, add the onions and saute till soft. Add the ginger garlic paste and saute well. Add the spice powders and mix well. Fry for 2 mins and then add the cooked kheema. Cook for 2 mins. Add the mashed potato and mix well. Remove and set aside. When warm to touch mix well with hands. You can cool and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use. It stays good upto 2 days. When ready to cook, heat oil in a tawa as needed for shallow or deep frying. Whisk the egg with a pinch of salt. Dip the patties in the egg first and then coat with breadcrumbs. Cook on both sides till done.

Serve warm!!!

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Maida Murukku | Diwali snacks | Guest Post for Arthy

When Arthy of Sumanarthy's kitchen asked me to do a guest post for her in the month of November, I was first hesitant to accept it. Seriously, I just can't find the time to even blog these days and a guest post was totally out of question. But when she gave the theme as Diwali recipes, I thought that I could squeeze in a guest post sometime. After all, I had decided to make quite a few Diwali sweets and snacks and I just had to pick one for her.

I am a sucker for traditional South Indian snack items. And by sucker I mean not in eating it but to make it. The first time I tried Omapodi at home, it drank so much oil that I had to bin it. The second time I tried seedai and most of you know what happened. And to those who are new, it burst right out spluttering my entire kitchen with oil and it took me 2 hours to clean up the mess. And thus come everything to an end. The huss, the brother, and the whole family asked me to stop venturing out of my league. And so have I. Until Diwali came and I started browsing for some easy recipes. The huss was so adamant that I make the muruku under his vigilance. Grrrrr... As for the recipe, I saw this one in a TV cookery show. Its an easy and go-to recipe for beginners like me... So why wait, head over to Arthy's kitchen for the step by step recipe.

Updated recipe on 12/24/2013

~*What U Need*~ Unbleached all purpose flour - 1 cup Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp Sesame seeds - 1/2 tbsp Ghee - 1 tsp Salt - to taste Warm water - to knead dough Oil - to deep fry How I Made it: Place the maida in a clean cloth and steam for 10 mins. Once done, remove and when it is warm, crumble it with your hand. Once it is completely cool, sieve it and collect the flour. If you want you can run it in the food processor or mixie once. In a mixing bowl, add maida, ghee, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, required salt and mix it once. Then add hot water little by little and combine to form a dough. Then divide them equal portions and set aside. Put each ball into the murukku press. Heat oil in a kadai and when hot drop murukkus (you could either pipe it directly into the hot oil or pipe murukku on a greased plastic cover and drop it carefully into the oil. I piped it directly into the oil. Cook on both side till golden brown, remove and drain in kitchen towl. Crush into bite sized pieces and store in an airtight container. Always fry the murukku in medium low flame.

Serve with tea!!!

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Goldfish Crackers or lets say Cheese crackers...

Crunchy, cheesy, salty, total perfectness in every bite is what I can say about these crackers. It spells sharp cheese in every bite and if you are a cheese lover like me or the kid or the huss, then you definitely have to make this. And when you are attempting this, you are very much making the famous gold fish crackers minus the preservatives at home. I gave this a shot because pappu is very much into Cheetos these days thanks to me. I wanted to try a healthy alternative at home and google search led me to this. If you are very much into perfection unlike me then try making the goldfish cutter at home or stick to an icing tip just like I did. Thats absolutely fine with me when it gets the job done.

The crackers were a total winner both with the huss and pappu. The huss keeps stealing his way to grab a mouthful while pappu runs whenever he hears the cupboard door being shut and gobbles atleast 4 or 5 at a time. Like anytime I halved the recipe and the cracker bin is almost done. This weekend is going to be cracker making week again and I am so going to double the original recipe. Coming to the baking time, keep an eye throughout, cos it tends to go from golden to brown in a minute. One basic rule though is that the thinner you roll out the dough, the crunchier the cracker comes out and the lesser the baking time. Keep that in mind and you are good to go.

Adapted from Tastykitchen Prep Time 15 Mins; Cooking time: 15 mins; Makes - 2 1/2 cups ~*What U Need*~ Sharp cheddar cheese - 4 ounces, shredded (~2 cups) Cold Butter- 1 tbsp Unbleached all purpose flour - 1/2 cfup Salt - 1/4 tsp Cold water - 1 1/2 tbsp How I Made it: Pulse cheese, flour, salt and cold butter together in a food processor until it resembles wet sand. Add water 1/2 tbsp at a time and pulse till it comes together. Gather to a dough and chill for 20 mins. Roll out the dough and cut desired shapes. I used the back of a icing tip. Place in a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 F for 12-14 mins or until crispy, puffed and golden.

Store in an air tight container upto 2 weeks...

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Poha Chiwda | Aval Chivda | Easy Snack Recipes | Diwali Snacks

Poha Chivda or Poha Chivda is nothing but an Indian version of hot and sweet trial mix. It makes for a perfect tea time snack and the mild spiciness and the just right sweetness makes it a perfect pairing for your coffee or tea. You may share it with your partner over your tea table or if you are like me, put the kid to sleep, pull out your favorite cooking book and snuggle onto your couch with your personal cup of black tea and personal plate of chivda. I however prefer the latter.

I made this sometime back just before Diwali when I had little above half a cup of red poha and out of ideas on what to make with it. A phone call to the mother came to rescue and I got into business once the kid was up and playing on his own (which seldom happens). BTW, he is a BIG-TIME attention seeker and can never be by himself and his mom has to be his playmate 24/7. But that is what makes me happy these days. Watching him play, watching him grow, watching him do anything ~ I just can't get enough of it.

Prep Time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 20 mins; Serves - 2 ~*What U Need*~ Poha/Aval - 3/4 cup Peanuts - 1/4 cup Roasted chana dhal - 1/4 cup Cashews - 1/4 cps Black raisins - 2 tbsp Curry leaves - 1 sprig Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp Hing - 1/8 tsp Brown sugar - 1/2 tbsp Salt - to tast Oil for deep frying How I Made it: Measure all your ingredients and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai. When it is hot, add the poha and fry it. It should become crisp and will start floating in the oil. Drain and place in a kitchen towel. Similarly fry the peanuts, cashews, raisins, dhal and curry leaves and drain excess oil. Once it is warm to touch, take a large bowl, add all the fried items sprinkle hing, red chilli powder, salt and brown sugar and mix gently till evenly coated. Cool completely and store in an air tight container.

Serve as a tea time snack.

** My Notes:
** The oil should be very hot. When you drop the poha, it should fry and immediately come up.
** I used the red variety poha but you can use whatever you like.

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Vanilla-Chocolate chip Biscottis | American Style Vanilla Biscottis | HBC#6

I had to participate in this month's challenge. After missing the Halloween goodies, I just had to... I have been regular with my coffee breaks these days, all thanks to the unexpected snow few days back and the dipping mercury levels. A hot cup of coffee seems all the more necessary unlike any other day. And that is another reason that I had to bake this month's challenge. The biscottis, I dunk it in coffee, I dunk it in tea and I dunk it in my favorite Starbuck's pumpkin spice latte. And its that cup that is standing high in the pictures... :)

Nothing like dunking a biscotti in coffee and when its bursting with vanilla in every bite, its just vanilla heaven. Yeah more vanilla and it just seemed to add flavor to my coffee. Now am I exaggerating here, guess not. I am totally in love with these biscottis cos the variations are endless. You can jazz them up with 'n' number of add-ins and if you are a sucker for vanilla (seriously, are you???) then replace the vanilla extract with lemon or orange or even rum extract. Didn't I tell you, there are a whole number of ideas running around my mind. I can see myself baking umpteen batches of this biscottis in the near future atleast till the winter ends here.

And thanks to Priya akka for the wonderful challenge..

~*What U Need*~ Unsalted butter - 3 tbsp Sugar - 1/3 cup Salt - 1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla extract - 2 tsp Baking powder - 1/2 tsp Eggs - 1 Unbleached all purpose flour - 1 cup Dark Chocolate chips - 1/4 cup(optional) How I Made it: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly line a cookie sheet with aluminium foil. In a medium-sized bowl, beat the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, almond extract (if you're using it), and baking powder until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Beat in the egg; the batter may look slightly curdled. Add the flour and mix, the dough will be sticky. Plop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and shape it into 9 1/2" x 2" log, about 3/4" tall. Smooth it out with wet hands. Bake the dough for 25 minutes. Remove it from the oven. Cool for 10 mins. Slightly dampen the crust of the dough with slightly wet hands. Slice it with a serrated knife. Reduce the oven temperature to 325F. Return the biscotti to the oven, and bake them for 25 to 30 minutes, until they feel very dry and are beginning to turn golden. They'll still feel a tiny bit moist in the very center, if you break off a piece; but they'll continue to dry out as they cool. Remove the biscotti from the oven, and transfer them to a rack to cool. Store airtight at room temperature; they'll stay good for weeks.

Serve with coffee!!!

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Karuppu Kondakadalai Sundal / Black Channa Sundal | Festival Recipes

I am making some kind of sundal for our evenings these days. A bowl of warm sundal with a cup of hot cardamom tea is becoming a perfect tea-time for the dipping temperatures here. Moreover amma has asked me to give some boiled legumes to the kid on a daily basis and so its becoming a regular atleast for his sake. I already have a healthy collection of sundal recipes in the blog and found it to be missing this basic kondakadalai sundal.

Amma says that the black version of the chickpeas are best when compared to the white version and so I usually make this sundal. This is a diabetic friendly dish and if you are giving it to elders then ignore the tempering and just stick to plain boiled chickpeas. Makes it all the more healthy. But if its for the kids, the tempering is necessary as it adds flavor.

~*What U Need*~ Karuppu Kondakadalai / Black Channa - 1 cup Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp Salt - as needed To Temper: Oil - 1 tsp Mustard - 3/4 tsp Red chilli - 2 Asafoetida - 1 pinch Curry leaves - 1 sprig How I Made it: Soak channa overnight and pressure cook it with salt and water for 4 whistles or till soft. Drain water and set aside. Heat oil in a kadai and temper with mustard, red chilli, hing and curry leaves. Add the grated coconut and fry till lightly browned. Add the cooked channa and stir fry till dry. Transfer to serving bowl.

Serve hot!!! Healthy guilt free snack ready.

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