Masala / Spicy Chex Mix

The holiday season is here and I am getting tired of eating sweet things wherever I go. One of my associates brought a pack of chex mix, nuts for all the staff to much on. I tried that and was not impressed as it lacked any flavor or taste. I searched Google and found recipes for chex mix. Many of them called for Worcestershire sauce which had anchovies in them. Suddenly, it occurred to me why not make a desi version of chex mix. After all, we all grew up eating mixture, chivda etc and tried this masala chex mix. There is no actual recipe or measurements. The original recipe for chex mix calls for rice, corn and wheat chex. When I went shopping, I completely forgot to buy wheat chex.

Other things to add include, cheezits, cheerios, bugles etc.

Let us get to the mix now.

Get Ready:

• 3 cups of rice chex
• 3 cups of corn chex
• 2 cups of pretzel sticks ( may use mini pretzel twists)
• 1 cup dry roasted unsalted peanuts ( can use almonds, mixed nuts, pottukadalai/ dalia dal)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp oil
• Handful of curry leaves
• Chili powder
• Idli molagapodi
• 1/4 tsp hing/ asafetida
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp sugar

Go:

• Take a big mixing bowl and add all the chex, pretzels, nuts
• In a pan, melt the butter, add the curry leaves
• Turn the heat off and add the spice powders except sugar
• Pour the butter mixture, sugar on the chex mix and toss well till all the butter and spices are well coated.
• Preheat over to 350 F
• In a baking dish add the chex mix and bake for 10-15 mins.

Peanut Chaat / Peanut Salad

I made this quick and easy salad when my best friend came over for lunch. It is full of protein and very tasty too. Me and my friend had planned some physical activity that day and this power packed salad did help us to keep going! But, this definitely is not the thing if you have peanut allergies.

A perfect snack or a meal by itself for you all to enjoy! One can add other vegetables of your choice like cucumbers, bell peppers, roasted corn, cubed and boiled potatoes. You can also add some paneer and crumbled feta if you are a cheese lover.

Get Ready

• 1 cup raw peanuts
• 1/2 mango peeled & diced
• 2 carrots finely chopped
• 3 green onions chopped
• 1/4 tsp ginger grated
• 1 tomato, remove pulp and chopped
• 2 jalapeños thinly sliced ( keep seeds if you want some heat)
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• Salt to taste
• Lots of chopped cilantro
• Lemon/ lime wedges to serve
• Thin sev for garnishing.

Go

• Soak the peanuts in water for 1 hr and pressure cook with little salt for 3-4 whistles. Once the pressure cooker cools, drain the water from the peanuts and set aside.
• Prep all your veggies. Chop them in the same size as your peanuts .
• In a bowl, add the peanuts, chopped vegetables, salt, chaat masala and toss them well.
• Adjust salt and chaat masala as per your taste.
• Cover and refrigerate .
• Before serving, squeeze a little lime juice from a wedge and garnish with sev, mint chutney or serve just like that and enjoy!

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.
• 
  
• 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!

Sabudhana Tikki / Javvarisi Vadai

Packing a variety of healthy vegetarian school lunches is hard, especially if your child is picky. I am trying to identify things that would taste good in the afternoon and easy to prepare. I had once bought a pack of sabudhana tikki, of course the frozen one from Indian store and my daughter liked it. They were a little spicy for her. I made them at home toning down the spices and we had a healthy snack/ lunch dish that she enjoyed. They may not be as crispy for school lunch, but i don't think my daughter cared for that. Her lunch box came clean and I am happy.

Get ready

• 1/2 cup sabudhana/ tapiocal pearls/ javvasrisi
• 1 small green chilli chopped
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tbsp peanuts powdered
• 1 small potato boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1 tbsp chick pea flour/ kadalai mavu
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• salt to taste
• Oil to deep fry

Go

• Wash and soak the sabudhana in water for about 1-2 hrs. drain the water completely and set aside. I used the one available in Indian stores, not the one in chinese stores.
• Add the mashed potatoes, peanut powder, green chilli, ginger, slat, cilantro to the sabudhana and mix well till everything is well incorporated.
• make small tikki or flat discs.
• heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot add the tikki's and fry them in batches till golden brown and cripsy.
• Serve hot with ketchup for evening snack or school lunch box

Chappathi Crumble / Roti Crumble

Vaghereli Roti, is the name for this up cycled dish with left over rotis. They are made pretty spicy, however I made them tolerable to our taste.

Here is a very quick and easy recipe with left over chapathi's. I guess this is the equivalent of idli upma to chapathis or rotis. I had only 3 rotis left over and used whatever vegetables i had in the fridge. Feel free to experiment with other vegetables.

A perfect lunch box dish or a tea time snack!

Get Ready

• 3 left over chapathis ( cut them into small ribbons with a kitchen scissors or rip with your hand)
• 1/4 onion finely chopped
• 1 cup of shredded carrots and cabbage ( use bell peppers, beans, carrot, corn, potatoes, peas)
• 2  thai green chili slit
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp garam masala powder or red chilli powder ( or to taste)
• a small wedge of lemon

Go

• In a pan, add oil. when hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle
• Add the chopped onions and green chillies and saute till onions are soft
• Add the shredded cabbage, carrots a little salt and cook uncoverd till the veggies are partially done. You want a crunch in the vegetables, don't over cook them

Add the chopped chappathi, salt to taste, garam masala and toss them all together on medium heat.

Reduce the heat, sprinkle a little water and cook till all the spices are well incorporated for 2-3 mins

Turn the heat off, garnish with cilantro and serve hot with a wedge of lemon


I packed this for my own lunch and it tasted so good and was not dry at all!

Enjoy and have a great weekend folks!

Potato Poha / Aval Upma

 Kids are back in school! Mine are, how about yours? Eventhough they drove me crazy on some vaction days, it was kind of easy to go to work in the morning.

No lunch packing, i mean, how cool is that?

My son has always favored home packed lunch and i am always on the look out for new ideas.

Poha/ beaten rice/ flattened rice/ Aval is an easy snackable item in Indian kitchens. They absorb water and can used for sweet and spicy dishes. This one is an easy snack/ tiffin item that would be liked by the old and not so old!

So, Here we go....

Get Ready

• 1 cup poha / Aval / flattened Rice
• 1 tablespoon Peanuts
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 2 small green chillies slit
• 1 medium sized potato peeled and small cubed
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds/ kadugu
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/ jeera
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• Pinch of asafetida
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste

Go

• Wash the poha under running water 2-3 times. Add water just to cover the poha and let it sit for a minute.
• Drain the water completely from the poha after a minute. Add a pinch of salt, gently toss. Cover with a lid and set aside for 20 mins.
• Cook potatoes in water in a microwave safe bowl for 5-6 mins till they are soft, but not mushy .
• In a pan add oil, once hot add the mustard seeds. After they pop add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
• Add peanuts, asafetida and fry till peanuts are golden.
• Add the onions, green chillies and sauté till onions are golden bad well done.
• Add the cooked potatoes to the sautéed onions and cook for 30 secs.
• Reduce the heat.
• Add turmeric powder, poha, salt, sugar and gently toss all together. Cover and cook on low flame for a minute or two.
• Adjust salt/ sugar according to taste.
• Turn the heat off, garnish with lots of chopped cilantro.

Enjoy for breakfast , lunch or evening snack with some coffee or tea.

Kale Chips

Source: Mindbodygreen

Let us imagine you are at your local grocery store/ supermarket. You are intrigued by the dark green curly leaves sitting on your grocery store shelf. You are thinking ," Hm.. is it spinach, lettuce?" By this time you walk close to the aisle and read the label " Curly Leaf or Dinosur Kale". You think," oh well, whatever! i don't know how to cook it, never tasted it". I am sure DH or my kids won't eat this any way!You just pick up our good old spinach and move on!

I don't know about you, I surely have done this many times!  kale is on a abrgain now. So I had the courage to pick up a bunch! Your mood is , Heck, it is only $ 1.99 even if I waste it, i want to try it!

BTW kale has a lot of antioxidants, you know the same good stuff seen in Broccoli, sweet potatoes :))

And that is exactly what I did!
Found everyone raving about Kale chips and I had to make it!
So, Here it goes!

Get Ready

• 1 bunch of Kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon dosai milagai podi ( can be replaced with chilli powder, chaat masala etc)
• Kosher salt to taste

Go

• Pre heat oven to 350 F. Line your cookie sheet with foil. helps with cleaning, trust me!
• Wash the bunch of kale and  rip the leaves into large bite size pieces. make sure you don't include the thick vein in the middle, as it is hard to chew!
• In a bowl add the oil and milagai podi.
• Add the kale leaves and gently toss them all so the oil and spices are well coated on the leaves.
• Arrange them separately on a baking sheet. Sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

• Bake for 15 mins or till the leaves are crispy.

Let them cool and store them in an air tight box.

Snack on them as much ( not much with 1 bunch though) you want guilt free!

Savory Muffins 2/ Iyengar Bakery Nostalgia

Hello Friends and sorry for the long hiatus. 2012 wasn't particularly exciting for me! Ever since my last post in March 2012, I've had a really rough ride. The worst being losing my mother to breast cancer after 18 months of pain, suffering, chemo, radiation etc.
My mom was an inspiration for me to cook, and I miss her dearly. But I am happy that her sufferings have been put to an end. I know she is always there for me and my family in our thoughts and dreams.

So, here I am blogging in this new year. I missed you all friends and your mouth watering recipes!

How many of you recall the taste of" Khara bread/ khara bun" from  Iyengar's bakey. A totally new take on the usual sweet buns that we have all had growing up in India, right!
Here is my attempt to re create the same flavor.

I'm telling you all it tasted pretty awesome and was moist 2 days later too!

Here we go with the recipe!


Get Ready: ( makes 7 muffins)

• 1 cup All purpose Flour/ Maida
• 1 tbsp Baking Powder
• salt to taste ( start with 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegetable Oil
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 tsp Vinegar
• 2 tbsp grated carrot
• 4 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper
• 2 tbsp finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp chopped Jalapeno pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 
  
• 1/2 tsp oil to saute the veggies

Go:

• Pre heat oven to 375 F and line your muffin tin with liners.
• In a pan, add little oil and once hot saute the onion, carrot, jalapeno and red bell pepper for a few mins. turn heat off and set aside.
• Whisk all the dry ingredients together to incorporate well.
• In a bowl, crack the egg. Add the liquid ingredients into the egg and whisk well.
• Fold in the flour mixture, sauteed veggies to the wet ingredient. add salt as per taste.
• Pour 3/4 in the muffin cups and bake till a tooth pick inserted comes out clean for approximately 30 -35 mins.

Enjoy it warm with some butter spread or just like that.

One can add some Ajwain/ Carom seeds, Cilantro, Cumin seeds, whole pepper corns for some kick in the butt heat, or other herbs of your choice.

PS: The single balloon and present on the earlier picture was added by my 4 yr old. ( Er... tantrum made me do it :))

See, how fluffy it is inside!

Pav Bhaji / Indian sloppy joe's

Pav bhaji needs no introduction to people who have tasted it. For others, Pav is a  roll and bhaji is vegetables. pav bhaji includes a mixed vegetable curry, where the vegtables are finely minced and the ncooked in a spicy sauce with a special masala pav bhaji masala. Adding butter to the dish gives it a smooth silky texture. Pav bhaji is a very popular street food in India and is served with pav toasted with butter!

I used frozen yeast rolls as my pav, but one can also buy pav bread in Indian stores.The ingredients are pretty much the same, flour, yeast...You get the picture right!


Get Ready ( serves 4, medium spicy)

• 4 cups mixed vegetables  chopped ( beans, carrots, cauliflower, peas and potatoes)
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 jalapeno/ green chilli chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger grated
• 3 large tomatoes chopped
• 1 tsp pav bhaji masala or use chaat masala
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup cilantro

For serving

• chopped red / regular onion rings
• chopped tomatoes
• lemon wedge

Go:

• Cook your dinner rolls/ pav as per instructions and set aside.
• In a wide pan add 4 cups of finely chopped vegetables and add water just enough to cover the vegetables. add a little salt. Cook till the water boils, simmer, cover with a lid and cook till veggies are soft, but not mushy. Turn the heat off.
• Mash the cooked vegetables coarsely with a potato masher.
• In another pan, add oil and saute the onions, green chilli and ginger till the onions are light brown.
• Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder and fry till the raw smell goes
• Add the chopped tomatoes and fry till the tomatoes are mushy and oil separates.
• Add the mashed vegetables, salt to taste, pav bhaji masala and water to make it a little dilute. Don't add too much water.
• Once it comes to a boil, add the 2 tbsp of butter and turn the heat off.
• Garnish with cilantro.

To serve, toast the rolls half slit on a skillet with butter.
Add the bhaji on the side and serve with chopped red onions,  tomatoes,lemon wedge and more cilantro.

One can add garam masala if needed. Make it as spicy as you wish!

Sorry for the picture quality!

Paneer Pakoda/ Paneer Bajji or Fritters

Paneer is a versatile cheese. It easily blends into savory or sweet dishes. Here is quick recipe for a evening snack for those hungry little ones returning from school. I used store bought paneer, but if you have home made, of course it will taste pretty awesome!

The one thing that made me happy doing this pakoda was my 3 year old picky eater loved it! I sliced the paneer cibs, made a small slit in the middle and filled with some  chilli sauce and deep fried it. I needed some hear and spice in mine.
For the kids, used the good ol' paneer alone.

Get ready:

For the Outer covering

• 5 table spoons Besan/ chick pea flour/ kadali maavu
• 1 tbsp Rice flour
• 1/2 tbsp corn flour  ( optional)
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• pich of baking soda
• salt to taste
• water
• Paneer cut into wedge, slices or cubes of your choice
• Oil to deep fry.

Go:

• Whisk all the dry ingredients  with water til lit forms a thick paste, almost like a thick pancake batter. ( bajji maavu consistency)
• Heat oil in a kadai for deep frying. To check heat. add a smal drop of the batter, it should rise to the top immediately
• Dip the paneer slices in the batter so that the batter evenly coats the paneer.
• Deep fry them till golden brown, flipping them half way through.

Enjoy with ketchup or any hot chutney!

Pepper Cumin Puff Pastry Twists / Khari Biscuits

I cannot believe it's the most wonderful time of the year soon. Families, friends, fun and of course Food are part of the holiday season. Here is an easy party snack that could be served as an appetizzer or an evening tea time snack.
So simple to make that you can involve the little hands in home too!

Puff pastry sheets plus some cute cookie cutters will do the magic. I used cumin and pepper to flavor mine. Adding ajwain or omam will be yummy too!
I had one puff pastry sheet remaining in the freezer. I used that and ended with a wonderful munching snack!

Get Ready

• Pepperidge Farm Puff pastry sheet thawed as per packet instructions
• Salt to taste
• Cumin seeds
• Black Pepper  ( be as generous as you want :)))

Go

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Open the puff pastry sheet on a floured surface
• Sprinkle salt, cumin seeds, cracked black pepper and roll in gently. this will help the pepper and cumin to stick to the sheet.
• Cut them into rectangles or desired shape. I gave mine a twist.
• Arrange them on a foil lined greased cookie sheet.
• Bake for 10 mins till they puff up and golden.
• Let them cool and enjoy!

Potato Bonda

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! How many of you hit the stores to get those best deals?

Well, I never did! We were traveling over the thanks giving break and came home couple of days ago.Sorry, If i had missed your posts.

Bonda is a traditional south Indian snack served in the evenings with hot coffee or tea. Usually made with urad dal batter or potatao covered with besan, rice flour batter and deep fried. These dumplings are so comforting and super tasty.
I saw a low calorie one here and I had to make them. I had all the ingredients in hand and made them for evening snack. Oh, my god, they were so good and they were low calorie, with out all the deep frying.
Non stick appam / paniyaram pan is the best thing I've ever bought!
Thanks Chef in You for sharing such a wonderful recipe. I modified the batter a just a little and added a squirt of lemon juice to the potato mixture.

Here it goes

Get Ready:

• 2 medium potatoes,peeled cooked and mashed
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 3-4 green chilli chopped
• 1/3 cups frozen peas
• lots of cilantro ( i don't measure this)
• salt to taste
• lemon juice to taste
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp urad dal

For the batter:

• 1/4 cup besan/ chick pea flour
• 1/3 cup rice flour
• a pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 cup water, plus a little extra.
• little salt to taste.
• 2-3 tsp oil

Go

• In a pan, add 2 tsp oil.
• add the mustard seeds, urad dal and do the tadka.
• add the onions and fry till soft.
• Add the green chillies nad suate for few seconds.
• add the peas, salt and cover and cook for 2-3 mins.
• Add the mashed potato, adjust salt to taste and cook them all for 1-2 mins.
• Add the cilantro, squirt some lemon juice to taste and turn the heat off.
• after it cools, make small balls and set them aside.
• Prepare the batter by adding the besan, rice flour, salt, chilli powder, pinch of soda by adding 1/4 cup of water. it should be thick to coat the potato balls. 9 almost like pan cake batter/ dosa batter). if too thick add little water to the desired consistency.
• Heat the appa karal. add 1 tsp oil in each hole/well
• Dip the potato balls i n the batter, to coat it completely. keep heat on medium.
• Add it in the wells, flip them to other side with a chopstick or fork once they are cooked on oneside.
• Cook till golden and crispy on the other side .

Serve hot with chutney, ketchup or just like that.

I had them with freshly brewed south indian coffee and it was amazing....!

Try this and let me know, i am sure you will like it!

Pottukadali Thenkuzhal / Dalia dal Munchies

Thenkuzhal is usually amde with rice flour and urad dal flour. I found this recipe at Priya's website and had book marked it. I used a different mould and made them as thenkuzhal.
They were so crunchy at the same time melt in your mouth and was unbelievably good. I replaced butter with vegetable spread/ margarine and the results were pretty good too!

Get Ready:

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup pottukadalai flour
• 1 tbsp vegetable spread ( used kroger brand  I cannot believe it's butter)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp asafetida
• salt to taste
• 1 cup + 3 tbsp water
• Oil to deep fry

Go:

• Sift both the flours so lumps are there.
• Add salt, cumin seeds, asafetida, salt to taste to the flour.
• Add water little by little and for ma dough till it leaves the sides. Do not add all the water at once.
• Heat oil in a pan to deep fry.
• Once hot, fill the dough in the murukku press and make shapes of little discs.
• Deep fry till all the bubbles settle and nice golden color. The right consistency is when you hear a little rustling noise from the deep fired items.

Beware, once you start eating them, you cannot stop with 1 or 2! Enjoy at tea time!

Corn flakes Chivda

Diwali is just round the corner. Here i am with a very easy chivda or mixture recipe using corn flakes. I used kellogs brand, plain cornflakes. One doesn't have to deep fry the corn flakes for this chivda. It is very easy and breezy recipe that can be done in no time.

I am on call for this weekend so didn't have the luxury to have a lot of time to prepare sweets and snacks.

Also check out my Ribbon pakoda

Thenkuzhal

 Get Ready:

• 4 cups corn flakes
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1/3 cup cashews broken
• 1/3 pottu kadalai/ roasted dalia
• 1/3 cup Peanuts with skin
• 1/3 cup Murmura/ Pori ( optional)
• 1/3 cup aval/ poha
• 1-2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp coconut powder ( optional)
• 1 tbsp dried cranberries (optional)
• a few  curry leaves
• Oil to deep fry

Go:

• Heat oil and deep fry the cashews till golden, raisins till plump, peanuts, poha, pottukadali, curry leaves till crisp one by one and keep them aside on a paper towel.
• In a large bowl add the corn flakes, the deep fried cashews, raisins, poha, pottukadali, pori, coconut powder, cranberries, salt, chilli powder and toss them well.
• The oil on the deep fried items will help the salt and spices stick to the chivda.

Store in an air tight container and enjoy anytime. Rava laddu coming soon!

Jaipuri Tindora

Tindora, ivy gourd or kovakkai is one of my favorite vegetable. Back home these vines are so abundant in the country side. Tindora in the south, especially tamil nadu is considered the poor man's vegetable.

 But here , it's so exotic and for people like me driving 60 miles to an Indian store, getting kovakkai is so special!

Here is new version of tindora made with gram flour/ besan along with cashews, amchur and vinegar. It caught my attention the moment i saw this recipe. I know, it's deep fried! But hey, It's OK to indulge and spoil our self once in a while, right?... stop thinking, it is right!

It tasted crispy with cashews in between. My hubby not a big fan of kovakkai  liked this one!

Get Ready

• 1 & 1/2 cups Julienned Tindora
• 1 cup besan/ chick pea flour
• 1/4 tsp Amchur powder/ dry mango powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/3 cup cashews broken
• 1 tbsp vinegar
•  salt to taste
• 1 cup water
• Oil to deep fry

Go:

• Add all the powders, salt, cashews, besan &vinegar to the tindora pieces.
• Sprinkle water little by little and toss everything till the besan coats the tindora. Don't add all the water at once and make a bajji mavu!
• one can also add some cornflour or rice flour too for the extra crispiness.
• Heat enough oil to deep fry in a pan.
• Drop the besan coated tindora one by one and deep fry them till crispy or medium brown.

Serve hot as a snack by itself or as a side with rice dish!

Curried Vegetable Pot Pie in Ramekins

Vegetable pot pie is one of the items offered in my toddler's daycare lunch menu. She does not care to eat that as much as mac and cheese or pizza! She makes so much fuss to eat rice, rasam curry etc but put a slice of pizza in front of her, it will be gobbled up with no squeaks! Ever since I saw that on her menu, I wanted to recreate the same one at home. I made them in small ramekins so it would be a perfect after school snack for my older one! It's a great way to clear your freezer or left over vegetables. Puff pastry sheet makes it look so grand and would be a family pleaser.

If you want a real kicker, spice it up more!

Get Ready: (makes 3 small ramekins)

• 1/2 Puff pastry sheet 
• 1/2 cup onion chopped
• 1 & 1/2 cup Mixed veggies chopped ( used carrots, potatoes, beans, corn, cauli florets and zucchini)
• 1 tsp sambar powder/ curry powder
• salt to taste
• 1 tsp butter
• 1& 1/2 tsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1/3 cup cheddar cheese ( optional)

For the egg was ( optional)

1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water

Go

• Thaw your puff pastry sheet as per package instructions. cut 1/2 from one sheet and freeze the remainder tightly covered in foil
• On a floured surface spread the sheet, seal any cracks with a little water and cut them into rectangles.
• Pre heat oven to 400F
• In a pan add the butter
• saute the onions till soft.
• Add the veggies, sambar powder, salt to taste. Cover and cook on low fire till they are soft, yet a little crisp.
• Sprinkle and flour on the veggies and saute for few seconds.
• Add the milk and let it come to a boil. this will give a thick gravy base.
• Add the cheddar cheese and turn the heat off.
• Spoon the mixture evenly into ramekins filling most of the ramekins.
• Cover the ramekins with puff pastry sheet and tuck the edges.
• Give a quick egg wash and bake till golden for 12- 15 mins.

You can make a slit on the top to vent. In my picture I did not slit the one in yellow ramekin and it has this beautiful mount compared to the one next to it which was slit.

 

Sobha of Good food  was so sweet to share some awesome awards with me. Thanks a million girl and you rock!

I am happy to pass it on to all my blogger friends as I love you all!

Thanks again Sobha for your kind gesture!

Easy Kuzhi Paniyaram

Thanks everyone for your well wishes!

Kuzhipaniyaram is a very popular snack from the chettinad cuisine.  Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu is the main town of chettinad area accompanied by multiple villages. Chettinadu is famous for its spicy cuisine, mansions and temples.

Paniyaram can be made either sweet or as a savory item. Here is an easy version to make a savory kuzhi paniyaram with idli/ dosa batter. All you need is a special pan to fry it. Most south indians carry a appa karal or appe pan which could be used to make kuzhipaniyarams.
Serve these with a spicy onion/ coconut or tomato chutney and wash it with a hot cup of coffee.

Get Ready:

• 1 and 1/2 cup idli/ dosa batter
• 1/3 cup finely minced onions
• 2 green chillies chopped
• 1 tsp ginger chopped
• 2 tbsp grated carrots
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/4 tsp mustartd seeds
• 1/4 tsp urad dal
• asafetida a pinch
•  curry leaves few
•  cilantro few
• salt to taste
• oil to shallow fry.

Go:

• In a pan add a tsp oil and do the tadka with mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves, asafetida.
• Add the onions and fry till translucent. turn the heat off
• To the dosa batter add the sauted onion, carrots, chilli, ginger, salt to taste, cilantro.
• If it's too watery, add few spoons of rawa/ sooji to thicken it. if too thick add a little water.
• Put the appa karal on low medium heat. add a drop of oil to the holes in the karal and wipe with a tissue.
• Now add a big drop of oil to the holes.
• add the batter into the paniyaram holes till it is almost full.
• Cook on low heat.
• Using a chopstick or a skewer, flip them over.
• Cook till they are crispy and golden-brown on both sides.
• Serve hot with any chutney of your choice or pickle.

Enjoy!

Mani Kozhakattai / Ammini Kozhukkatai

I don't know whatz happening with blogger. Are some of you guys experiencing the same problem as I am? I am not able to post comments on certain blogs at all.
So my dear friends, please don't be mad at me for not posting comments. I have been reading all your updates, but unable to post comments on some blogs. Hope blogger will fix these issues, if real soon!

 

We were invited by our friend for a special pooja this weekend. I made mani kozhakattai which are basically mini steamed rice dumplings. This is usually made as an evening snack on Ganesha Chathurthi with leftover dough from mornings. Let's get ready!

Get Ready (serves 2):


For the rice dumplings

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp. oil
• Pinch of salt

For seasoning:

• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. Urad dal
• 1 red chili (split)
• A few curry leaves
• A pinch of asafetida
• 1/2 tsp. red chili powder
• 2 tbsp. grated coconut
• Salt to taste

Go!

• In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the water, oil, & pinch of salt. Let it come to a boil.
• Add the rice flour to the boiling water and mix well without any lumps.
• Keep the heat on medium and mix it so it forms a ball of dough.
• Cover with a lid and turn the heat off.
• Once you are able to handle the dough, apply oil to your palms and make them into small chickpea-sized balls. Use ALL the dough to form balls.
• Grease an idli stand and steam these rice balls for 10 mins. in a pressure cooker. They will look shiny when they are done.
• In another pan, add oil. When hot, do the tadka with mustard seeds, Urad dal, red chili, curry leaves, and asafetida.
• Add the grated coconut, red chili powder, the steamed dumplings, salt to taste and mix well. Let it cook  on low heat for 2 mins.
• Turn the heat off.
• Serve hot with some garnished cilantro.

Rice dumplings ready to be steamed!

A perfect evening snack. Enjoy your Memorial day weekend!

Coconut Kiss Macaroons

 I am so happy to share with you all that i won the second place in the "Eggless holiday cookie contest" held by Manjula's Kitchen.

I  honestly could not have made it without all your support and I sincerely  thank you all for that.

(Yields 25 cookies)

 Get Ready

•  2 ½ cup sweet grated coconut (One 7 oz. bag)
•  1/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom powder 
•  A pinch of salt  
•  4 oz. sweetened fat free condensed milk
•  1 tsp. vanilla extract
•  25 mini milk chocolate morsels

Go: 

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment and grease with cooking spray. This step is very important as it prevents the cookies from sticking to the sheet.
• In a bowl, mix the coconut all purpose flour, cardamom powder, and salt.
• Add the condensed milk and vanilla to the coconut mixture and mix well till everything is well blended.
• Cover the mixture and refrigerate for 20 mins.
• After 20 mins., with a teaspoon or using your hands make small balls and spread the cookies on the cookie sheet. These cookies won’t spread and you can arrange them closely.
• Press a mini milk chocolate morsel in the middle of the macaroon and bake for 15 20 mins. or till golden.
• Take the cookie sheet out of the oven and let the macaroons cool for a few minutes on the parchment paper.
• Remove the macaroons and let them cool on a wire rack.

Store and enjoy any time!

Ribbon Pakoda

It's diwali in 1 week and every household will be gearing to make lots of sweets and savory dishes to celebrate.
I miss Diwali back home. I have good memories of celebrating this wonderful festival. Me and my brother would be so willing to wake up early, take bath, put on new clothesand will be ready to blast off all the fire works. Too bad my kids are not getting that opportunity to celebrate.
But, one day, I will take them to see diwali in India.

Ribbon pakoda is a crisp snack prepared in many households in the south during diwali.It resembles a long ribbon and hence the name. It' easy to make and even easier to finish it once you make! Before making this make sure you have the murukku press or ribbon pakoda press to make it.

I am giving you the ratio of besan to rice flour and you can make as much or  as little depending on what measure you use.

Always use 2 besan/ chana dal flour to 1 rice flour. The rest is all like a breeze! Trust me...

Get ready:

• 2 cups besan
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/4 tsp Asafetida
• 2 tsp red chilli powder ( can omit this if you don't any spice)
• 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 cup water, used very little at a time
• Oil to fry.

Go:

• Mix, all the flour, asafetida, salt, chilli powder and butter.
• Add water little by little, eveb sprinkle it and form a soft dough. Do not add the whole cup of water in go, other wise you will have bajji batter. to make the pakodas crispier, add 1 tsp of hot oil while making the dough.
• Heat oil for deep frying.
• Take a ball of the dough and put inside the ribbon pakoda press.
• Squeeze into circular shapes into the hot oil.
• Deep fry them till golden or till it floats on the oil.

Enjoy!
Check out my Thenkuzhal as well for diwali snacks