Garlic Paneer Gold Coins

Cooking Time:      15 mins                                              Servings: 5

Preparation Time: 20 mins                                             Category: Snacks, Veg

This snack looks like a small gold coin because of the appealing golden colour it gets from deep frying. It is an ideal snack for all occasions as the crisp fried paneer with a mixture of garlic and chillies makes a mouth watering combination.

Ingredients:
--------------


Garlic Paneer gold coins

Paneer or Indian cottage cheese - 200 gms
Garlic cloves (finely diced) - 12
Green chillies (finely diced) -  6
Bread crumbs - 100 to 150 gms
Crushed black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil - for deep fry



Preparation Method:
-----------------------

• Crumble or grate paneer into very fine small pieces and keep it in a bowl.
• Add finely diced garlic, green chillies, pepper powder, salt and bread crumbs to it.
• Mix all these into a dough. Add 2 tsps oil so that it will be easy while preparing it.
• Now make small balls of this dough. Using your both hands gently press until they become flat and round in shape like a coin.
• Heat oil in a vessel and fry these coins until they turn golden in color. Don't fry them on high flame as it will cook the outer part immediately leaving the inner part semi-cooked.
• Once done, place the coins in a serving plate and garnish with sliced onions and finely chopped coriander.
• Serve hot with mint chutney

PS: Egg white can also be used instead of bread crumbs to bind the mixture.
     Always fry on a medium flame

Vegetable Cutlets

Cooking Time: 45 mins                                                             Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 mins                                                       Category: Starters, Veg

Vegetable cutlet is a dish made from coating a cutlet of mixed vegetables with breadcrumbs and deep/shallow frying it. They are great blend of vegetables and spices. These are great as an appetizer, afternoon snack with tea, or as a side dish with dinner.

Ingredients:
---------------

Vegetable Cutlets with Mint Chutney

Potatoes - 6
French beans, chopped - 10
Carrot,grated - 1
Beetroot, grated - 1 small
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Ginger finely chopped or grated - 1
Garlic cloves finely diced - 5
Finely chopped Onion -  1
Finely chopped Green chillies - 2
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt  to taste
Roasted Cashewnuts,crushed -  10
Maida -  2 tablespoons
Finely chopped coriander leaves - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice  - 1 Tbsp
Bread crumbs -  1 cup
Oil  - for deep frying the cutlets


Preparation Method:
------------------------

• Boiled the potatoes until they are tender and then drain the water and let them cool down.
• Now peel the skin off and mash the potatoes.
• Steam the vegetables i.e. beans, carrot, peas and beetroot. Make sure to drain out all the excess water out and pat the mixed vegetables dry.
• Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in a pan and add cumin and mustard seeds and once they start to crackle add onions, ginger and garlic. Saute them for 5 mins.
• Add mixed vegetables, cashewnuts, turmeric, salt to taste and chilly powder and saute them until the mix becomes dry. Add chopped coriander and stir well.
• Now mix this with mashed potatoes and make as a dough. Add little bread crumbs so that it binds the mixture into a dough.
• With oiled hands, take small portions of the dough and shape into flat round patties about 1/2 inch thick.
• Add some water to the maida to make a batter and keep aside.
• Dip each patty in the flour batter, and roll in breadcrumbs and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the patties until they are golden-brown on both sides.
• Repeat this until all the cutlets are done. Serve hot with tomato ketchup or mint chutney.

  
PS: You can always change the shape of the cutlets to your desired shape. These cutlets also make great veggie burgers. Take a burger bun and cut it horizontally into half. Roast both the halfs with butter and then add lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise sauce, cheese and tomato ketchup.

Tomato Rasam (My style)

Cooking Time: 45 mins                                                   Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 20 mins                                             Category: Indian Soups, Veg


Rasam or Saaru, is a famous south Indian soup, traditionally prepared using tamarind juice as a base, with the addition of tomato, and chili pepper, pepper, cumin and other spices as seasonings. Steamed lentils are added along with any preferred vegetables. Nowadays all the seasonings required are combined and ground beforehand into a rasam powder, which is available commercially.
It is eaten with rice or separately as soup. In a traditional meal, it is preceded by a sambar rice course and is followed by curd rice. Rasam has a distinct taste in comparison to the sambar due to its own seasoning ingredients and is usually fluid in consistency.

There are different kinds of rasam, varying by ingredient and region. Some of the common varieties are 

Thakkali Rasam - with tomato puree as main ingredient.
Poondu Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Garlic.
Inji Rasam - a healthy rasam made with Ginger.
Mudakathan Rasam - a healthy green leaf rasam made with Balloon Vine.
Lemon Rasam - a sour soup made with lemon juice.
Parupu Rasam  - common variant made with pulses and tomato stock.
Kollu Rasam or Ulava Saaru - a healthy rasam made with horse-gram.
Mysore Rasam - a fragrant soup made with fried grams/dals.

The recipe am sharing now is a mix of thakkali, poondu and parupu rasam with tamarind juice as base in my own style. So here it goes:-

Ingredients:

--------------

Tomatoes - 4

Tomato Rasam

Toor dal - 1 cup

Hing/Asafoedtida  - 1/2 tsp

Sliced Onions (optional) - 1

Tamarind pulp/paste - 2 to 3 Tbsps

Crushed Black Pepper corns - 8 to 10

Salt - per taste

Turmeric - 1/4 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Slit green chillies - 4

Curry leaves - 6-8 

MTR rasam powder - 2 Tbsp

Ghee - 1 Tbsp

Crushed garlic cloves - 6

Water - as required and per consistency

Preparation Method:

-----------------------

• Pressure cook tomatoes and dal in separate vessels in a cooker. Once done, peel off the skin of tomatoes, mash them to a pulp and keep it aside along with the dal.
• Heat ghee in vessel and add crushed pepper corns, crushed garlic and saute them for couple of mins
• Now add sliced oninons, green chillies, curry leaves, hing and saute them too for another couple of mins.
• Add tomatoes, dal, turmeric powder and simmer them for 10 mins.
• Now add jeera, chilli powder, salt and mix it well and cook for 5 mins.
• Add tamarind pulp/paste and let the dish come to a boil. Now simmer the stove and add water as required.
• When this comes to a boil, add the MTR rasam powder and let it boil for 15 mins. Turn of the stove and serve hot with plain rice, idly etc

PS: Before turning the stove off, you can add another tsp of ghee and garnish it with finely chopped coriander. If dal is not being used, increase the count of tomatoes as required.

If you don't want to use ready made MTR rasam powder, you can prepare it at home too. Here is the recipe for the same:-

Ingredients

--------------

Coriander seeds - 1 cup 

Red chillies - 12 

Split black gram dal - 2 tbsps 

Cumin seeds - 2 tbsps 

Fenugreek seeds - 2 tsps 

Mustard seeds - 2 tsps 

Sesame seeds - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tsp

Preparation

--------------

• Dry roast mustard fenugreek seeds on low flame and when they start to  splutter remove them on to a dry plate. 
• Similarly roast cumin seeds till you get a pleasant aroma and remove it into the same plate. 
• Heat oil in the same pan and add coriander seeds, black gram dal and red chillies. 
• Roast them together till the ingredients emanate a pleasant aroma and the chillies become crisp. 
• Remove the roasted ingredients on to a plate and allow to cool. 
• Grind them together into a slightly coarse powder and store in an air tight container 

Stuffed Green Peppers in Tomato gravy

Cooking Time: 45 mins                                                   Servings: 6

Preparation Time: 20 mins                                             Category: Maincourse, Veg

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers is one of several stuffed vegetable dishes in Indian cuisine. It consists of bell peppers stuffed with cooked mashed potatoes and seasoned with chili, turmeric, coriander, cilantro, salt and lemon juice (optional). The peppers are then either browned in a Tawa (frying pan) or baked in an oven until the peppers are soft.

 

The recipe does not call for a gravy, but surely you can get creative and use a tomato based gravy to serve it with rice or any Indian bread. I also used little bit of kaju and khus khus to give the gravy the smoothness and rich texture. Here is the recipe:-

 

Ingredients:

--------------

Capsicum/Bell peppers - 6

Alu/Potatoes - 2

Stuffed Green Peppers in Tomato gravy

Slit Green Chillys - 6

Khus Khus/Poppy seeds - 1 Tbsp

Kaju/Cashew nuts - 1 Tbsp

Tomatoes - 3

Onions - 2 small

Finely Chopped Mint leaves  - 1/2 cup

Finely Chopped Cilantro/Coriander - 1 cup

Finely chopped green chillies - 2

Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 Tbsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tsps

Kasuri Methi - 2 tsp

Saunf powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chat masala - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as per taste

Cooking oil - 2 Tbsps

Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp (you can add more if you need the dish to be more spicy)

 

Preparation Method:

------------------------- 

Stuffing and cooking bell peppers:
-------------------------------------

• Cut the top of the bell peppers and remove all the seeds inside and keep them aside.
• Boil potatoes and when done peel off its skin.
• Mash them and add 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1/2 tsp turmeric, chopped green chillies, chat masala, salt to taste and 1/2 tsp coriander powder.
• Mix well and now stuff the bell peppers with this potato mix.
• Heat 2 tsps of oil in a pan and place the stuffed bell peppers gently in it. Roast it well, close the pan and simmer it for few mins.
• Make sure the peppers are not over cooked. This can be done using a fork/tooth pick. Pierce and see if the fork is easily passing through the bell peppers which means they are cooked properly. If over cooked, they become very soft and the peppers tend to fall aside.
• Once done, take them out of the pan and keep them aside.

For the gravy/curry:

-------------------------

• Dry roast khus-khus, kaju for few mins. Blend them along with tomatoes and mint leaves to a fine paste.
• Dice onions into very small pieces,heat oil in a vessel and saute them until they turn golden brown.
• Add ginger garlic paste and crush kasuri methi into a thick powder and add it too. Stir and cook for couple of mins.
• Now add the paste and mix well. Keep stirring at regular intervals so that the gravy doesnt stick to the bottom of the vessel.
• Once the gravy comes to boil add chilli powder, salt to taste, a pinch of turmeric, saunf powder.
• Mix well and let the gravy simmer for about 15-20 mins. We need to make sure that the khus khus smell is completely gone and the gravy is properly cooked.
• Then add the stuffed bell peppers gently to the gravy and cooked for 5 more mins.
• Turn off the stove and take the bell peppers into a servering vessel and pour the gravy on top of it.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with phulkas/rotis/chapathis or ghee rice, peas pulav, veg biryani, jeera rice etc

 

Naatu Kodi Koora

Cooking Time: 45 mins                                                    Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 15 mins                                              Category: Maincourse, Non-Veg


"Natu Kodi" means country/village chicken. Compared to the regular broiler chicken available in market, this one has a strong and unqiue flavor. The country chicken curry is very famous across many villages of south Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Generally, this dish is prepared using clay pot as it is considered to be hygenic, pure and healthy and it also adds the strong essence to this dish's flavor. This dish is exclusively prepared for "Sankranti/Pongal" festival.
In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, the clay pot used for cooking is called a chatti. This is usually used in the villages by the working classes, especially for cooking heavily spiced, hot fish & meat curries in traditional style. In many Hyderabad restaurants, the famouse biryani is prepared and served in clay pots.
Here is the recipe:



Naatu Kodi Koora

Ingredients:
---------------
Natu Kodi/Country Chicken - 1 kg
Green chillies - 6
Onions - 4
Tomatoes - 4
Curry leaves - 10
Mint/Pudina - 1 stick
Coriander/Cilantro - 2 sticks
Red Chilli powder - 1 Tbsp
Salt - per taste
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Cooking oil - 4 Tbsps


For the chicken masala powder
-------------------------------------
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tsps
Red Chillies - 8
Black Peppercorns - 6
Cardamom - 2
Heat a pan and dry roast all the masala ingredients and then blend them into a fine powder.

Marinade:
------------
Wash chicken thoroughly and take it in a vessel. Make sure there is no water at all. Now add turmeric, chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste, a table spoon of curry masala and a tsp of oil to it. Mix it well and let it marinade for 1/2 hr.

Preparation Method:

------------------------

 

• Dice onions and cut tomatoes into small pieces. Then finely chop mint and coriander leaves and keep them aside.
• Take a cooking vessel and heat oil in it. Add diced onions to it and cook until it turns golden brown.
• Add sliced green chilles and then tomatoes to it. Stir it well until onions and tomatoes are properly cooked and becomes like a thick gravy.
• Now add the marinated chicken to it and mix the dish very well. Simmer it until all the water released by chicken is evaporated.
• Add chopped mint leaves, remaining curry masala powder (chilli powder, if required). Mix it well and cook for 10 mins
• Add 4 cups of water, mix the dish and let it cook for another 10 mins on high flame.
• Once is chicken is properly cooked, turn off the stove and add garam masala powder.
• Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with plain rice, roti, chapati, biryani etc.

Bisi Bele Bath

Cooking Time: 1 Hr                                         Servings:  4
Preparation Time: 30 mins                              Category: Main course, Veg

Bisi bele baath is a rich rice-based main course dish with its origins in the state of Karnataka, India. Bisi-bele-baath translates to hot-lentil-rice in the Kannada language. It is also known as Bisi bele huliyanna. The traditional preparation of this dish is quite elaborate and involves the use of spicy masala, toor dal (a type of lentil) and vegetables. Spices like nutmeg and asafoetida, curry leaves and tamarind pulp used in its preparation contribute to the unique flavour and taste of this dish. It is served hot and sometimes eaten along with salad, papad or potato chips. This dish is commonly found in restaurants that serve the Udupi cuisine. The masala used for the dish is available off the shelf too but I prefer preparing at home fresh. Here is the recipe:-
 



Bisi Bele Baath

Ingredients:
--------------
Rice - 150 gms
Toor Dal - 150 gms
Green Peas - 50 gms
Potatoes - 100 gms
Beans - 100 gms
Carrots - 100 gms
Capsicum - 50 gms
Salt - as per taste
Tamarind pulp/paste - 4 Tbsps
Vegetables Optional - We can also use drumsticks, eggplants (brinjal) and kabuli chana


For Masala Powder
----------------------
Chana dal- 1 Tbsp
Urad Dal- 1 Tbsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 3 Tbsp
Dry Coconut(Copra) - 1 Big
Rice grains - 2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 10 (you can reduce or increase per your taste)
Cloves - 4
Cardamoms - 2
Cinnamon - 3 (1-inch pieces)
 
For Seasoning
-----------------
Ghee - 3 Tbsps
Curry leaves - 6 to 8
Green chillies sliced - 4
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 6
Cashewnuts - 2 Tbsps
 

Preparation Method:

------------------------

• Dice all the vegetables into medium pieces and keep them aside.
• Heat a pan and dry roast all the ingredients for the masala one by one for 2 mins (each). Blend all together to a fine masala powder and keep it aside.
• Take a vessel and add about a litre of water and heat it. Add all the vegetables and let it come to a boil.
• When these vegetables are half cooked, add toor dal and rice and boil until it is cooked.
• Then add salt to taste, tamarind pulp to it and cook for some more time.
• The consitency of the dish should be semi-liquid so add water if it is required.
• Add the masala powder and stir well until rice & dal absorbs all of it.
• When it is cooked turn off the stove and keep the dish aside.
• For seasoning, take a pan and heat ghee in it. Then add mustard, jeera, green & red chillies, curry leaves and cashewnuts and roast it for couple of mins.
• Add this to the dish, garnish with chopped coriander, ghee and serve hot with potato chips. 

Aloo Baingan

Cooking Time: 30 mins                           Servings:  5
Preparation Time: 15 mins                      Category: Main course, Veg

"Aloo Baingan" is an easy to make popular North Indian dish which is cooked in rich and spicy gravy. Eggplant (baingan) and potato (aloo) make a great combination and when roasted together in a perfect blend of spices, tastes heavenly. It's important to make sure these vegetables are well roasted till they turn tender. The consistency of the dish can be dry, semi-liquid or liquidly with taste ranging from medium hot to super hot. In this post, I opted for liquidy consistency with medium hot taste. You can use tomotoes along with the vegetables to give a tangy flavour to the gravy but I usually prefer yougurt/cream to tomato.

This recipe is as simple as you might guess and a safe bet if you want to make something simple yet special dish within quick time. It goes very well with phulkas, rotis, parathas and even with plain rice. Enjoy this absolutely delicious dish cooked in aromatic spices which leaves a taste that lingers on even after eating :)



Aloo Baingan

Ingredients:
---------------
Egg plants - 6, chopped into cubes or slit vertically.
Potatoes - 4, chopped into cubes.
Onions - 2, finely chopped.
Green chilles - 4, slit vertically.
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp.
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps.
Coriander powder - 1 tsp.
Salt - to taste.
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp.
Yougurt/Cream - 2 Tbsps.
Cooking oil - 2 Tbsps.
Ginger & garlic paste - 2 tsps.

Preparation:

---------------

 

• Heat oil in a vessel and add cumin seeds. When they start to crackle, add potatoes and saute for 5 mins.
• Add onions and saute till they turn brown. Now add green chilles and saute for another couple of mins.
• Add the egg plant/bainga/brinjal pieces and saute untill they turn tender.
• Add turmeric, chilli powder, coriander powder, ginger & garlic paste, salt to taste and mix well. Close the vessel with a lid and cook for 5 mins.
• Open the lid, add 2 cups of water, mix gently and cook for another 5 mins or till the gravy gets to a boil.
• Take yougurt into a small bowl and whipp it to ensure there are no lumps. You can also use cream instead of yogurt.
• Add whipped yogurt/cream to the dish, mix well and cook for another 5 mins on slow flame.
• Add garam masala powder, turn off the stove, garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot.

PS: If you want to use tomatoes instead of yogurt/cream, chop 2 tomatoes and add them directly after adding all the spices (in step 4 above) or simply add 2-3 tbsps of tomato puree.

Double Ka Meetha

Cooking Time: 30 mins                            Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 15 mins                       Category: Dessert


"Double Ka Meetha" is a famous dessert from the city of pearls, Hyderabad. It is made from fried bread slices soaked in cardomom flavoured sugar syrup & hot milk and topped with cashews, pistachios, saffron etc.

Double Ka Meeta or Indian bread pudding is a popular dessert of Hyderabadi cuisine and is served at most weddings and parties. More often than not, it is the double ka meetha that one encounters which is an immensely rich dessert and worthy of special occasions. Double ka Meetha is a specialty of Hyderabad and the name of which would many who have had it, drool like crazy. Bread is commonly known as "double roti" in Hyderabad and hence this name.

Give this luscious pudding a try! It's another dessert which is really to die for :)

Ingredients:

--------------

Double Ka Meetha/Indian Bread Pudding

Sliced Bread loaf - 1

Sugar - 200 gms

Milk - 1/2 litre

Ghee - 3 Tbsp

Cooking oil - 2 Tbsp

Cardamom powder - 2 tsps

Khoa/thickened milk - 1 Tbsp (optional)

Saffron - a pinch

Water - 4 cups

Dry fruits:

• Cashew nuts/Kaju - 1/2 cup
• Raisins - 1 tsp
• Pistachios - 2 tsps cup
• Karboja seeds/Melon seeds - 1 tsp

Preparation:

--------------

• Heat 2 Tbsps of ghee along with cooking oil in a vessel and deep fry the bread slices. (It's your choice to use only ghee or mix cooking oil with it. If its only ghee then you need 5 Tbsps of it).
• Drain on tissue paper and place on a tray-like vessel and keep aside.
• Boil milk in a bowl on low heat. Now mash the khoa/thickened milk and add it in the bowl. Keep stirring till milk starts to condense.
• Add a pinch of saffron to the milk and mix well or you can use it for the topping without adding it to the milk
• Take water in a bowl and boil it, add sugar and keep stirring till it becomes thick syrup, add cardamom powder.
• Dip each fried bread slice in milk and add it to the sugar syrup bowl, mix gently and keep aside.
• Heat a Tbsp of ghee in a pan and saute cashewnuts, raisins, pista and melon seeds for a couple of minutes and keep aside.
• Add the remaining milk directly to the bread and mix gently. Let the mixture soak with bread for 30 mins minimum.
• Once it is soaked well, serve it as a dessert with fried dry fruits and a pinch of saffron as topping.

Hyderbadi Lal Gosht

Cooking Time:       45 mins                            Servings: 5
Preparation Time: 10 mins                             Category: Maincourse - Non-Veg

Gosht is the transliteration for the Persian word 'laal maas' with meaning meat or flesh, which has been adopted by other South Asian languages. In India, gosht dishes are likely to be made with goat or mutton and the term "mutton" is more likely to mean goat rather than adult sheep, as it does elsewhere in the English-speaking world.

As the Hindu religion specially prohibits eating beef, and Islam prohibits the eating of pork, Indian gosht is not traditionally made with these meats. When Indian dishes are translated and adapted for Western audiences, lamb is the meat most often used in the adaptation. This has led to a common misconception that gosht means "lamb". In common Indian English the dishes made from any sort of meat are termed as Non-Veg. (Non-Vegetarian); in contrast with most of the Indians being Vegetarian (in fact Lacto-Vegetarian). 

Variations include bhuna ghosht, kadhai gosht, raan gosht, dal gosht, nihari gosht, hara Gosht and saag gosht. Now, lets see the recipe for Hyderabadi Lal Gosht:-

Ingredients:

---------------

Mutton - 1/2 Kg (boneless or with bones)

Cooking oil - 3 tsps

Onions - 2, finely chopped

Hyderabadi Lal Gosht

Tomato puree/sauce - 2 tsp

Cloves - 4

Cinnamon sticks - 2

Cardamom - 4

Bay leaves - 2

Water - 1 cup

 For marinade

----------------

Yogurt - 2 cups
Ginger garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Red Chilli powder - 2 to 3 tsps
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Mint leaves - 1 stick, finely chopped
Coriander/Cilantro - 1 stick, finely chopped
Garam Masala powder - 1 tsp
Black Pepper powder - 1 tsp

For seasoning

-----------------

Shahi jeera or black cumin - 1 tsp

Cooking oil - 2 tsps

Green chillies - 2 slit

Curry leaves - 4 or 5

Preparation:

--------------

• Wash mutton properly, dran out the water and take it into a bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients to it, mix well and and keep the marinade in refigirator for about an hour.
• Heat cooking oil in a vessel and add bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and saute it for couple of mins.
• Add chopped onions and saute it until they turn crisp and golden brown in color. Then add tomato puree/sauce and simmer the mix for 5 mins.
• Now add the marinated mutton to it and mix very well. Let it cook it for 10 mins on high flame.
• Add some water and cook for another 20 mins on medium flame. Stir it at regular intervals.
• Then simmer it for another 10 mins. Turn of the stove and take the dish to a serving bowl.
• Heat 2 tsps of oil in a small pan and add black cumin/sahi jeera, green chillies and curry leaves. Saute it for couple of mins and add this to the dish.
• Serve the curry hot with romali roti, tandoori roti, ghee rice etc.

Pakora

Cooking Time: 10 mins                           Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 mins                  Category: Veg snacks

Pakora is a mouth watering fried snack (fritter) found across South Asia. Pakoras are prepared by taking one or two ingredients such as onion, eggplant, potato, spinach, paneer, cauliflower, chilli, bread, chicken or occasionally mixed vegetables and dipping them in a batter of gram flour and then deep-frying them. The most popular varieties are palak pakora (made from spinach), paneer pakora(made from paneer, Indian soft cheese), pyaz pakora (made from onion) and aloo pakora (made from potato) .
In southern states of India, such preparations are known as bajji rather than pakora. Usually the name of the vegetable that is deep fried is suffixed with bajji. For instance, potato bajji is sliced potato wrapped in batter and deep fried. In such states, pakoda is taken to mean a mix of finely cut onions, green chillies and spices mixed in gram flour. This is rolled into small balls or sprinkled straight in hot oil and fried. These pakodas are very crisp on the outside and medium soft to crisp inside. There is also a variety that is softer overall, usually termed medhu pakoda in restaurants, that is made of any other ingredients, such as potatoes.

Pakoras are usually served as snacks or appetizers across all major restuarants in India. Though its a popular dish for all seasons, its mainly preferred during monsoons as the feeling one experiences is heavenly when pakoras are served with hot tea during rainy evenings. If you haven't tried this yet, I strongly suggest you to as monsoon has already arrived in India. A perfect snack for a perfect season. Hope you enjoy them as I do.

Here is the simple recipe for onion pakora:-

Onion Pakora

Ingredients:

---------------

Onions (sliced) - 4

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Green chillies, finely chopped or grounded - 2

Besan (chickpea flour) - 100 gms

Rice flour - 50 gms

Baking soda (optional) - a pinch

Salt - to taste

Cooking oil - for frying only

   

Preparation:

--------------

• Take all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well to make a batter. Avoid using excess water.
• Heat the oil in a small vessel.
• Take a small portion of the mixed batter at a time and drop it in hot oil or
• Take some batter in your hand and sprinkle it directly and slowly in the hot oil. 
• Fry till they turn crispy and golden brown. 
• Serve hot with mint chutney or spicy tomato sauce or just with hot tea.

 

PS: Add grounded jeera and few chopped mint leaves to the batter mix. This gives an awesome taste to the pakora.

Paapdi Namkeen

Cooking Time:  10-15 mins                     Servings: 6
Preparation Time: 10 mins                      Category: Veg snacks

Paapdi namkeen is an all season snack. It is great on its own and goes very well with chai(tea)/coffee. It can also be used in the preparation of paapdi chat. It lasts for few weeks if stored properly in air tight container. The authentic paapdi namkeen is prepared with Maida only but some tend to add a mix of whole wheat & rice flours to prepare this. Here is the recipe:-

Paapdi Namkeen

Ingredients:
--------------
Maida flour – 250 gms
Groundnut/Vegetable oil – 1 Tbsp
Ajwain – 2 tsps
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp(optional)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Water(enough to make firm dough)
Cooking oil to fry the namkeen

Preparation:

---------------

• Mix maida, groundnut/vegetable oil, ajwain, cumin and salt well in a bowl.
• Now add water slowy and keep mixing to make a firm dough (chapathi kind) and keep it aside for 10 mins.
• Cut the dough into small balls and roll them into thin chapathi kind of sheets.
• Sprinkle some maida on both sides of the sheets.
• Now cut into desired shapes (I usually cut them into diamond shape) and again sprinkle some maida over the pieces.

• Heat cooking oil and fry the pieces till it gets crispy and turn light golden in color. Keep them in cooking paper towels/napkins and once cooled store it in air tight container.
• Enjoy it with hot desi chai or coffee.

PS: Sprinkling maida won't allow the sheets/cut pieces to stick together and also avoids namkeen to absorb more oil.

Tandoori Chicken Legs (cooked in home oven)

Cooking Time:         1 Hr                                 Servings: 7
Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes                   Category: Non-Veg

Tandoori chicken is a popular Indian/ Pakistani dish consisting of roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and other traditional spices. It is characterized by the red coloring of the marinade and the creamy yet tangy flavors of the yogurt and spices. The name comes from the type of cylindrical clay oven, a tandoor, in which the dish is traditionally prepared. The tandoor is used for cooking mostly in Southern, Central and Western Asia. It is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor (clay oven), but can also be prepared on a traditional barbecue grill or in convention bake/roast cycle in our home oven.

I experimented with this dish a couple of times to come up with the perfect restaurant-style tandoori chicken taste and recipe that we can make in our home oven. Tandoori chicken, if served at dinner is best when the marinade is prepared the night before (24 hrs before cooking) to give it the fullest chance of flavoring the chicken prior to cooking. I usually follow this. We can prepare this dish with combo of chicken legs and thighs and it would work well even with breasts, thighs and legs. In this post, I used only chicken legs. Here is the recipe:-

Tandoori Chicken legs

Ingredients
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Chicken drumsticks/thighs - 14
Yogurt - 1 or 2 cups
Black pepper powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Ground Cayenne Pepper - 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder - 2 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 Tbsp
Thai chilli paste - 1 Tbsp (adds to the spices and also gives rich red color)
Red cooking color - 1/4 tsp (Optional)
Smoked paprika - 1 tsp (optional)
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp (optional)
 

For garnish
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Lemon - 1, cut into slices
Onions - sliced into cubes or rings
Bell pepper - cut into cubes

Preparation

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• Wash the chicken legs in warm water thoroughly. Drain out the water and take them into a bowl.
• Now add all the spices, lemon juice, yogurt and mix it well. A small quantity of sliced onions and bell pepper can also be added to this marinade.
• Let this mix marinade for atleast 12 hrs in refrigirator. As I said earlier, the more we let it marinade the more it adds to the flavor of the chicken.
• When ready to took, take out the marinde and place the chicken legs in a roasting pan with foil and touch up any empty spots on chicken legs with marinade. Add few drops of cooking oil over each chicken leg piece.
• Pre-heat the over upto 400C (If your home oven has a convention bake or roast cycle, please use that).
• Once done, place the rack in the oven and cook for about 30 mins. When done, take out the rack and turn the chicken legs, add few drops of cooking oil over each piece again and cook/roast it for another 15 mins or until the chicken is slightly charred on the other side. If chicken legs/thighs are used, its strictly not more than 15-20 mins to cook the other side.
• When done turn off the oven and let the dish be in the closed oven for another 10-15 mins. This will let the chicken absorb all the juices that form on it while cooking.
• Once done, take these chicken legs into a serving plate, sprinkle small quantities of ground cayenne pepper and paprika powder over chicken. Garnish with sliced onion rings/cubes, bell pepper and squeezed lemon.
• The authentic restaurant style tandoori chicken, prepared at your home is now ready to be served :)