Corn & Cheese Balls

These corn and cheese balls are very easy to make and will be absolutely loved by your kids. I made them less spicy and one can add more vegetables as per your taste. They are perfect for school lunch boxes or after school snack. of course, they taste much better when freshly deep fried. Serve them with ketchup or sweet and chili sauce.

You can get your kids involved in making them. My 7 yr old helped me make the initial balls, plop them into the all purpose flour/ maida paste. It was so much fun making with her and she ate the finished product so proudly that she made it.

Get ready ( makes 10 -12 balls of ping pong ball size)

• 1 medium sized potato boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1/2 cup of frozen corn
• 1/2 cup Grated colby and montery jack cheese ( this is what I had at home)
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 tsp besan
• 1tsp rice flour besan and rice flour can be substituted with corn flour, I did not have corn flour)
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro
• Oil for deep frying

To make the paste:

• 2 tbsp maida/ all purpose flour
• water
• Bread crumbs , no measurement for this

Go

Take half of the corn and pulse it in a blender.

In a bowl add the mashed potato, whole corn and pulsed corn, cilantro, cheese, salt, pepper etc and combine everything.

Make small balls as per your liking, rubbing some oil between your palms.

Set aside.

In a bowl add the all purpose flour, add water little by little and mix to form a thick paste. Set aside

Take potato corn balls, dip them in the all puropse flour batter. take them out and roll them in bread crumbs till all sides are well coated.

Do this with all the balls and keep them refrigerated till you are ready to fry. Just refrigerating them for a little while helps the balls to hold together while deep frying.

In a pan add enough oil for deep frying the balls.

Once oil is hot, add the balls and deep fry them till they are golden brown on all sides.

Serve hot with ketchup, chutney. You can add grated carrots, finely diced bell peppers for some pop of color and crunch.

Thayir Vada / Dahi vada

Thayir vadai is a classic dish of the south! I made them recently for a get together and the vadas were absolutely melt in your mouth type. It is very easy and quick to make. Try them and enjoy with your family!


Get Ready

• 1 cup whole urad dal, washed and soaked in water for 4 hrs
• 1 tbsp of raw rice ( soak it with the urad dal)
• Oil to deep fry
• A few sprigs of curry leaves
• A bowl warm warm 

For the thayir/ dahi

• 1-2 cups of plain yogurt ( preferably the ones that is not sour)
• 2 tbsp fresh grated coconut or frozen grated coconut
• 1 small piece of ginger
• 3/4 jalpeno chopped
• salt to taste
• Plenty of cilantro finely chopped
•  finely grated carrots 1/4 cup
• Nylon sev/ Bhoondhi ( store bought)

GO

• In a blender pulse the coconut, green chilli, and ginger.
• Add this to the yogurt with required amount of salt and whisk them well. Keep it aside.If it is too thick add a little water.
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• In a wet grinder add very little water at a time and grind the urad dal till nice and fluffy. use ice cold water while grinding the urad dal. using ice cold water is more useful if you are using a regular blender.
• Add some asafetida, few torn curry leaves and required salt to the urad dal batter. heat oul and make them into small vadas. if you are having trouble mkaing holes in the vada, add them just like round balls and deep fry them till they are golden. Fry all the vadas and set aside.
• Add the fried vadas to a bowl of water. Let them sit for a 5-6 secsonds. With the back of 2 spoons, squeeze the water from the vadas and arrange them in the bowl you are going to serve. use a wide pan.
• Once all the vadas are arranged, pour the yogurt that you have mixed on top of the vadas.
• Garnish with cilantro, carrot etc and keep refrigerated.
• Before serving add the sev/ bhoondhi.

Let me know if you try it and like it!

Chilli Paneer ( dry variety)

Some of my girl friends recently had a get together to celebrate our participation in a half marathon. My friend who hosted the party had made Chilli Paneer as an appetizer. It was very tasty and my friend told me the recipe is super easy. She is an excellent cook by the way and all the dishes she had prepared that evening were absolutely delicious.

I made the same dish on Valentine's day and my family absolutely loved it. It is very easy to make and really does not have a recipe as such. You add more or less  ingredients depending on your taste preference. I had some  Paneer left over at home, about half a block that we get from the Indian stores here in USA and a few bell peppers. I did not have time to take pictures while cooking and the final product was captured with my i phone to share with my friends.

Get Ready ( serves 2-3)

• Paneer cut into 3-4 inch pieces
• Bell pepper cut into the same size as paneer ( I used green and red)
• Green chilli 3 slit length wise
• 1 small shallot thinly sliced
• Tomato ketchup as per taste
• Siracha sauce as per taste ( or any hot sauce)
• salt to taste 
• Sunflower oil 2 tbsp
• Cilantro to garnish ( optional)

Go:

• In a large pan, add the oil. keep heat on high
• Add the onions, green chilli, paneer, bell peppers and saute on high flame fast, tossing the mover
• Add salt to taste.
• Saute the paneer and veggies till the peppers are crunchy but not too soft. It takes about 3-5 mins.
• Add a squirt of tomato ketchup and siracha sauce and adjust both the sauces as per your taste.
• Toss all of them to coat the paneer and peppers on high flame.
• Turn off the heat and serve hot., Garnish with cilantro before serving.

Yummy Chilli paneer ready to be served as an appetizer or as a side dish with rice.