Onion Zhunka

Zhunka-Bhakri is a staple meal in Maharashtra. Zhunka is traditionally made with drumsticks, but the simpler version is using green onions. Here is the recipe

Ingredients:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
A bunch of green onions(7-8) along with the greens roughly chopped
1 green chili chopped
1/4 cup besan roasted until golden brown
1 tsp jaggery
Salt to taste

Method:
Take a tbsp of oil in a pan, add mustard seeds when the oil is hot. When the mustard seeds sputter add jeera, ginger garlic paste, chili. Saute it for a minute and add onions let it cook through completely, covered. Add besan, salt, jaggery and mix well. Cover and cook for another 5 mins on low flame.
Jhunka is usually served with bhakris but chapatis go well too.

Egg Pulao

Ingredients:

Usually I use garam masala or pulao masala but I ran out of both so I made do with whatever I had. I didnt follow any specific recipe but just went on a whim. It turned out super good! This recipe is a keeper.

21/2 cups of basmati rice soaked in water for about 30 mins
1 egg
5 eggs boiled and cubed
1 Large onion chopped into thin long slices
1 cup of diced carrots, beans, and green peas
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1/8th cup tomato paste
2 tbsp cumin powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
2 bay leaves
1 inch piece of cinnamon
5 cloves
2 tbsp Chili powder or as per taste
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Cook rice in rice cooker with cloves,salt for taste and 2/1/2 cups of water. Cooking cloves with rice gives a nice aroma.
2. Heat oil in a pan, saute bay leaves and cinnamon.
3. Add onion and saute is until it becomes translucent.
4. Add ginger garlic paste and remaining spices, saute again for a few mins
5. Break the egg directly into the pan and stir it well so that the egg disintegrates and starts cooking.
6. Add tomato puree and the vegetables, sprinkle some salt. Add water if desired for the vegetables to cook. Make sure you dont make it too runny.. otherwise the pulao will turn out soggy.
7. Once the vegetables are cooked through add the boiled eggs and stir, turn off the heat and transfer the cooked rice form the rice cooker into the vegetable pan and give it a quick mix. Avoid over mixing otherwise the rice will break and you will end-up with a mushy pulao

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.

Rava Dosa

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rava
1/2 cup rice flour
1/8 cup maida
1 tsp cumin
1 green chili finely chopped
4 tbsp finely chopped onion
Salt to taste


Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and make a runny batter(buttermilk consistency). Set aside for 10mins before making dosas.

Batter consistency and tava temperature play an important part in the final outcome. For Rava dosas batter should be runny like buttermilk and tava temperature should be high, so leave the gas on a setting close to high.(somewhere between high and medium-high)

Wait until the tava gets hot, spread a few drops of oil on it and rub it all around the tava using the cut top end of a onion that you usually would discard. Take a ladle of batter and spread it on the tava in a circular motion. If you see it accumulating on one side then tilt tava slightly in the other direction so that the excess batter spreads on other side of the tava. Wait until you start seeing a change in the texture, you will also see the corner of the dosa turning golden brown, this means its time to flip it over and cook the other side.

I served it with potato sabzi and coconut chutney, like masala dosa :)

Egg Puffs

I remember having puffs in India from street side hawkers, my brother introduced it to me on one of our school holidays when we had nothing else to do but read story books and enjoy the sinful but yummy stuff that these hawkers had to offer. We would combine our pocket money and get egg puffs or samosas or chaat and enjoy it as a afternoon snack.

Its very easy to make, but requires a little planning because of the 40min thawing time that the store bought puff dough takes. I used pepperidge farm's puff pastry sheets and can vouch for it, homemade puffs is now a breeze. I found it in Vons but any other grocery chains close to you would carry them I suppose.

Ingredients:
4 Boiled and cubed eggs
1/2 onion cut into thin long slices
2 tsp tomato sauce
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
2 tbsp garam masala powder
Salt and more chili powder as per taste

Method:
Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onions, followed by rest of the spices. Add eggs and salt. Turn of the heat and let it rest for a bit.

Take the pastry sheets thawed at room temperature for 40 mins, cut 1 sheet into 4 equal squares, using a pin roller flatten each of them a bit to chapati thickness. Then put the egg stuffing in the center of each square and fold them to cover all the stuffing. Bake in oven at 375 for about 40 mins or until they turn golden brown.

Ragi Idli

I first tried these Idlis using a ready-made pack of Ragi Idli mix. It turned out so good that I wanted to try making it from scratch. It wasnt really difficult the recipe is just like our normal idlis except you subsitute rice with Ragi. The Udad daal-Ragi combo is so healthy and filling, I am thinking of making it more often.

Ingredients:

1 cup udad daal and 1 tsp Methi soaked together in water for 2 hours
2 cups ragi flour
For seasoning:
1 tbs Jeera, 3 Red chilies broken into smaller pieces, 1 tsp channa dal and oil.

Method:

1. Grind daal to a smooth consistency and add water only to help with the grinding process.
2. Add the ragi flour to the ground daal
3. Heat oil in a small pan and roast the seasoning ingredients, pour this on top of the batter
4. Add salt to the batter, mix well and leave it to ferment overnight
5. Once its fermented steam them and serve it with chutney of your choice.

Samosa

Summer is over and its starting to get cloudy/foggy with occasional drizzles. What could be better than watching it rain by the windowsill enjoying fresh hot samosas. That's what set the mood to try it out at home. I picked the recipe from Manjula's kitchen and I am very thankful to her for sharing it with us.

Ingredients for stuffing:
3 boiled potatoes cubed
2 green chilies
1/2 cup green peas
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp coriander powder
salt

Ingredients for the shell:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp semolina (rava)
About 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp oil
salt

Method for the outer shell:
Mix all the ingredients for the shell and knead to make a smooth dough(stiff like chapathi dough so you can roll them). The more you knead the crunchier the shell gets, so knead away :) Leave the dough covered with a wet kitchen towel for about 20 mins.

Method for the stuffing:
Heat a little oil in a pan and cumin followed by chilis, all the spices and then the peas. Let the peas cook through and then add potatoes and salt.Mix well and leave covered for 5 mins and turn off the heat.

Assemble the samosa:
Make round balls of the dough and then roll them into a circle, cut the circle into half using a knife. Place the stuffing in one semi circle then fold it into a triangle. Seal all the sides using little water. Deep fry them so that they are golden brown.

Serve with green chutney.

Veggie Sandwich

I wanted to post this a long time back but whenever I make these sandwiches they disappear before I can reach for my camera. Today was my lucky day, I was back with my camera before they were gone:)

If you want to be creative this is the recipe for you.. the choice of vegetables is immense, really, sky is the limit. I throw in whatever vegetables are in my fridge. Some of my favorites are shredded carrots, slices of beets, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, avocados, olives, lettuce, and more. It takes roughly about 5 mins to put together and you have a meal ready! Its a personal favorite on days when I am back from work tired and in no mood to cook anything elaborate.

Ingredients:
2 tsp Mint-Cilantro chutney or Coconut Chutney
2 tbsp Shredded cheese any kind will do (I prefer Mozzarella)
1 tsp Butter
Veggies of your choice either sliced or julienned. This time I had:
2 slices each of - tomato, avocado, boiled potato
Julienned- Onion and Bell Pepper
Salt and Pepper as per taste

Method:
1. Spread butter on one side of both the slices and on medium heat let them become a golden brown. Repeat on the other side.
2. Spread chutney on one side of both the slices
3. Take one slice, with chutney side up add shredded cheese and then assemble all the veggies on it.
4. Put a dash of salt and pepper
5. Place the other slice on top.

Go for it :)

Rajma Masala

It was when I was with my parents and my brother vacationing in Shimla, I was about 10. I still remember the day, it was pouring, all of us were soaking wet and we were famished. It was the time when there was no GPS or google maps to help us with directions, we had managed to locate our hotel through all the rain and heavy winds. Once we got there my dad ordered food from the hotel kitchen menu. We had dried ourselves and changed into something warm and in about half an hour there were hot rotis and rajma masala waiting for us in our room. I remember wiping the bowl clean with my last piece of roti and it was probably the best rajma I would ever have.
The recipe that I am sharing today is probably as close as it gets to the one I had in Shimla. Quite recently I discovered the secret to good rajma masala is LOTS of onions and tomatoes, sauteed well to make a thick gravy base.

Ingredients:
1 can Rajma beans(Red Kidney beans) washed and drained
1 Large Onion chopped roughly
3 Large fully ripe Juicy Tomatoes chopped
1 Bell pepper chopped finely
2 Tbsp Rajma masala powder or Garam masala powder
1 tsp red chili powder or as per taste
Salt as per taste.


Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan on med-high heat.
2. Sautee Onions followed by bell pepper and tomatoes(take your time on this one, its better you do not cut your time on this one). Let all the veggies cook through.
3. Add Rajma powder and red chili powder, stir. Let it sit on the heat for a couple of minutes
4. Add Rajma beans and stir in some salt.
5. Cover and cook on medium for about 10 mins before you turn off the heat.
If you like more gravy add a little water before step5.

Serve with Rice or Rotis.

Sabudana Wada

Sabudana wada is a popular dish in Maharashtra usually made during fasting days. Its sago, potatoes and spices mixed together and then deep fried into golden dumplings.

Ingredients:
1 cup Sabudana (aka sago) soaked in water for 2 hours
1/2 cup roasted crushed peanuts
3 medium potatoes boiled and cubed
2 sprigs mint finely chopped
2 sprigs cilantro finely copped
3 green chilies
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt as per taste
Oil for frying


Method:
1. Drain the sago and mix it with the rest of the ingredients except oil. Make round ping pong sized balls and flatten them in your palm.
2. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry them in groups of 2-3 until they are golden brown on both sides.

Serve with chutney or hot sauce like I do :)

Green Coconut Chutney

Back in India, Mom would make Idli or Dosa on Sundays for breakfast and serve it with coconut chutney. There are 3 variations of coconut chutneys and they come in 3 different colors- white, green and red. Today I am sharing the green version.

Ingredients:
1 cup Shredded coconut
3 green chilies
2 sprigs of mint
2 sprigs of cilantro
1/4 tsp Tamarind powder or Lemon juice
Salt as per taste


Method:
Grind all the ingredients together. Can be served with Dosa, Idli, vadas.

Banana-Berry Smoothie

One of my favorite smoothies is right from my kitchen. It takes about 2 minutes to make and I prefer it over any smoothie we get in Robek's, Jamba Juice or any of the myriad smoothie stores. Plus its very easy on your wallet and you get to control the calories. This juice has no added sugar and uses 2% fat milk.

Ingredients:
2 ripe bananas- make sure they are ripe, because ripe bananas are generally sweeter and they give a thicker consistency to the smoothie
8-10 frozen Black Berries (I usually have strawberries, raspberries and blackberries stocked in my freezer just for smoothies, any of these would do)
1/2 cup cold milk
1/4 cup water or some ice

Method:
Blend all the ingredients together until you dont see any chunks of bananas or berries. Serve cold!

Bollywood Batata Bowl

Boiled potatoes spruced up with spicy cilantro-mint chutney, sweet-sour tamarind chutney and Sev, served in a papad bowl. I picked this recipe from Marlena Spieler's 'Yummy Potatoes'. I have a few recipes bookmarked from the 65 potato recipes it carries.
Making bowls from papads is new to me but it turned out fairly easy. You fry a papad, immediately transfer in a deep bowl when its still tender and press it gently into the bowl, so that it takes the bowl's shape. It couldn't get any simpler!


Ingredients for Batata Bowl:
4-5 medium sized potatoes, boiled and then cubed into small bite sizes pieces.
1 cup Sev
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 green chili finely chopped.


Assemble the bowl:
Start with putting potatoes in the papad bowl, next add a tbsp of chopped onions and a little chopped chilies. Pour mint-cilantro chutney on one side and sweet-sour tamarind chutney on the other. Sprinkle sev on top. Repeat with rest of the bowls.

Tamarind Chutney

Tamarind chutney is a thick sweet and sour chutney usually used as a dip or topped on chaats for a tangy taste. It gets its sweetness from Dates and sugar, sourness from tamarind and lemon juice. I took this recipe from Marlena Spieler's 'Yummy Potatoes', pretty much followed the recipe as is. I have not dared make this chutney before because all the recipes I have come across called for soaking or boiling for long hours. This recipe beats them all because I got it ready in less than 10 mins!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp Tamarind paste or powder. If using fresh tamarind, remove seeds and then soak in hot water for about 20 mins.
5 seedless dates. I had the wet kind we get in Costco.
2 tsp Cumin seeds
1 cup water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp lemon juice

Method:
Boil all the ingredients together for 5 mins. After it cools down grind it to a fine paste.

Missi Roti (Chickpea Flatbread)

I was reading this cook book "Curry Cuisine" and one of the recipes caught my eye for it was a bright yellow flat bread with dots of red onion, cilantro and spring onions, the Rajasthani Missi Roti. It looked appetizing so i bookmarked it for the Sunday brunch.
As legend has it, chickpea increases water retention in the body and is therefore a popular snack amongst desert travelers. I followed the recipe to the dot but I was out of cilantro and spring onions. Also I never had ajwain in my pantry. So I skipped the ingredients that I ran out of and used cumin instead of ajwain, mint instead of cilantro. Also next time I am planning on using whole wheat flour instead of all purpose flour for a healthier version.

Ingredients:
1 and 1/4 cup of Besan
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp ginger paste
2 green chillies finely chopped
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbs finely chopped mint
1 tbs finely chopped onion
1 tbs finely chopped green onions(optional)
100 ml water
salt as per taste
1 tbsp melted ghee


Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together, then slowly add water and knead to make a stiff dough. Leave the dough covered with a damp paper towel for 20 mins.
Make round balls of the dough and roll them into rotis. Cook the rotis on a pan on medium to low heat until they are golden brown on both sides.
Brush rotis with ghee and serve.

Dhokla

Dhokla is chick pea flour, seasoned and steamed to spongy and moist goodness. Its sweet, sour and spicy.
It had been there in the back of mind for a long long time now, I was more interested in making Dhoklas than eating it. Has it ever happened to you, where you enjoy making something more than you would enjoy eating it? Anyway, so after pestering my colleague/friend for the recipe, google came to my rescue. I found a bunch of recipes online which I adapted to match the ingredients I had in hand. Most of the recipes I read called for "Fruit Eno", I hadnt heard of it before but I found that its primarily soda+citric acid, luckily I happened to have both. The Dhoklas turned perfecto!


Dhokla Ingredients:
1 cup Besan
1 cup Yogurt
1/2 cup water
3 finely chopped green chillies
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp soda
1/2 tsp citric acid granules or alternately 2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
Salt as per taste

Garnish:
2 tbsp lemon juice + 2 tsp sugar + 1 sprig chopped cilantro(optional)mixed together



Method:
Mix all the Dhokla ingredients together except soda which you add in the end. Make sure there are no besan lumps left and the batter is smooth. Now add soda and stir gently. Leave the batter for 15-20 mins.
Pressure cook the batter on high heat for 30-40 mins(w/o the whistle). Switch off the gas and remove it out of the pressure cooker. Let it stand to cool. Once its cooled down completely cut it into cubes or whatever shapes fancy you. Pour the garnish on top.

Seasoning:(optional)
Heat oil and add add mustard seeds, when they start to sputter turn off heat and pour it on top of the garnished Dhoklas.

Serve as is or with any other chutney. I served it with my favorite Mint chutney.

Mint chutney

I grow my own mint and have an abundant supply of fresh mint year long. Having a perennial supply of chutney would be a wonderful thing but alas they dont have a long shelf life. So when I make a big batch of chutney I keep a little in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer.
Mint chutney is the accompaniment to a lot of Indian snacks, like bhajiyas, wadas plus its super simple to make.

Ingredients:
1 cup Fresh Cilantro washed and stems removed
1 cup Fresh Mint washed and stems removed
3 tbsp grated coconut(fresh or frozen)
2 tbsp Fried channa daal
5-6 Green chilies or as per taste(I ran out of green chillies so substituted it with 4tsp of red chili powder, it turned out equally good.)
3 tbsp lemon juice
Salt as per taste


Grind all the ingredients together. The greens already have water in them so be careful how much water you add. I usually keep a glass of water handy and keep adding it in the mixer when the ingredients become too dry to grind(you will know because the mixer will start making a loud noise when stuff in it gets too dry to grind.)
Do a taste check. This is how I usually do it.
- If there is less of anything like salt or spiciness, you are lucky its a easy fix, just add a little of whats missing do a quick pulse in the mixer.
- If its over spicy, add some lemon juice. Sourness kills spice, a useful tip from my mom.
- If its salty then there is more work needed to fix it, you will have to add more of all the ingredients except salt and re-grind. I hate to get in this situation and usually add less salt because its easy to add more later if needed.

Batata Wada

Potatoes cooked, diced, spiced,rolled into balls, dropped into chickpeas batter and then deep fried into golden brown goodness, we call Wadas. Fresh Mint chutney recipe here, sounds like a natural accompaniment to warm wadas. In Bombay, wadas are a popular snack in street side stalls. People old and young enjoy this delicacy all the same. Its easy to make and is a great mid-afternoon snack with tea or coffee.

Ingredients for Wada:

Stuffing:
3 Potatoes boiled, skinned and cubed into bite size pieces.
2 tsp oil + more oil for frying
1 tsp Cumin seeds
3-4 green chilies chopped or as per taste.
Juice of 1 small lemon(1 tbsp)
Salt

Batter:
2 cups besan(chickpeas flour)
2 tbs corn flour
2 tbs chili powder or as per taste
Juice from 1 lemon
salt as per taste

Making Wada:
1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan
2. When the oil is hot add cumin followed by green chilies
3. Add potatoes, salt and lemon juice
4. Stir well, cover and turn off the heat.
5. Once the mixture cools, make ping pong sized round balls.
6. Mix all the ingredients under batter section. Make sure there are no lumps.
7.Heat oil for frying in a deep pan.
8. Drop the potato balls in the batter and then into the frying pan.
9. Let the wadas turn golden brown before taking them out.

Serve the golden brown wadas with Mint chutney. Enjoy!

Ragi Dosa (Millet Flatbread)

Millet or Ragi can be compared to wheat for its protein content. Also its high in VitaminB and Folic acid. There are several millet dishes some that I have tried out are, Ragi mudde(millet flour cooked in water and then rolled into round balls) which is a common meal served with a whole Onion in south India, Bhakris(flat bread) in Maharashtra, Kasaya(millet flour cooked in milk and sugar added at the end). And finally Ragi Dosa which was an occasional tea time snack my mom prepared.


Ingredients:
1. 2 cups Ragi flour
2. 1 cup rice flour
3. 5 cups water
4. 2 tbsp curds
5. 1/4 cup onion finally chopped
6. 5 green chillies chopped
6. 1 tsp cumin
7. 1 sprig each of cilantro and mint chopped(optional)
Salt as per taste

Method:
1. Whisk all the ingredients together
2. Heat a greased griddle on medium heat and pour in a ladle of batter, spread it by slightly tilting the pan so that the batter has spread all over the surface of the griddle.
3. Let it cook for about 2-3 mins and flip over when its golden brown on one side.
4. Let it turn golden brown on the other side before pulling it off.
Serve with chutney or ghee.

Avocado Salad

Living in california has its advantages and one of them is access to plenty of avocados. I first saw them here in california, but my friend says its available in Bangalore and are called ButterFruits. I try to include avocados in my diet for their obvious health benefits and I have one avocado almost everyday :)
This recipe is inspired form the avocado salad I tried at a local sandwich place. Its a refreshing start to a warm summer day :)


Ingredients:

1. 2 Hass Avocados, stoned and cut lengthwise(refer pic)
2. 1/4th of a small onion finely chopped
3. 1 small tomato finely chopped
4. 2 tbs Olive oil
4. 1 tbs lemon Juice
Salt+Pepper as per taste

Method:
Toss all the above ingredients together and serve.

Cauliflower Potato curry

Growing up I detested cauliflower, I would spend hours staring at my plate wondering how could mom force on me something so unpalatable. At one point I started believing cauliflower florets were miniature trees(I think I have to thank mom for that) I suddenly didn't dislike them so much, munching each of the florets, believing that I had a whole tree going down my throat. I guess it made my mom's life easier.
If you have a fussy kid and the "tree trick" dosent work anymore then maybe give Gobi Manchurian a try, there cant be a kid who will say no to such pure goodness ;)
Anyway, eventually the taste did grow on me and now cauliflower is a staple in my kitchen. This curry recipe I am sharing is a traditional Konkani dish that I picked up from my mom.

Ingredients:

1. medium cauliflower cut into florets, washed and drained.
2. 2 potatoes diced, about 1/4th inch cubes or bite sized

Masala:
3. 1 cup shredded coconut
4. 2 tbs of slightly roasted coriander seeds
5. 1 tsp turmeric
6. 5 dry roasted red chillies or as per taste
7. Tamrind paste 1/4 tsp or adjust as per taste

Method:
1. Cook Cauliflower, potato in a deep pan
2. Meanwhile grind all the ingredients under the masala section to a fine paste, adding water as needed when the ingredients get too dry and are difficult to grind
3. When the veggies are cooked halfway add the above masala and salt as per taste
4. Let it cook through until the veggies are completely cooked

Seasoning:
This section is optional but it gives a very nice aroma to the whole dish.
1. Heat a tbp of oil in a small pan
2. Add 1tsp mustard seeds and once they start sputtering add a sprig of curry leaves.
3. Turn off the heat and add a pinch of hing.

Serve with rice or chapati.

Gulab Jamun

As a little girl I visited my aunt in the summer breaks. I would look forward to those trips, it would be a good long break from school and my cousins were such fun. My summers would begin in full anticipation of the gifts and treats I would get as my birthday falls in the summer. There would be cake, candies and ice-creams but I particularly looked forward to Gulab Jamuns my aunt made. They were soft, sweet and would melt the moment it hit the palette. My nostalgia for those beautiful summers can only be satiated with this yummy treat.

Now to the preparation part, unlike my other recipes I wont be giving any instructions. I had a store bought pack of "Gits Gulab Jamun Mix" it came with instructions and is fairly easy to make, it took me about 20 minutes. Alternately you could visit a Indian grocery store where they carry them in round tin boxes or the next time you dine at an Indian restaurant don't forget to order these from the menu.

Plantain fritters

Plantain fritters are a favorite at home so I make it once almost every week. Plantains are very rich in iron and vitamin A and these fritters are not deep fried which makes it a healthy side dish or snack. You can find these in almost any of the grocery chains, pick once which are a bright green and firm if they are yellow the fritters will end up mushy and tasting slightly sweet.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Green plantain, washed, peeled and cut in 1/4th inch thick slices(refer to the pic for a rough idea)
2. 1 tsp Chili powder
3. Hing 2 pinches
4. 1 tsp Salt
5. 1/4 cup Bread crumbs or Sooji
6. Oil 2 tsp
7. Water 2 tbs


Method:

1. Mix all the above ingredients except bread crumbs, oil and water
2. Set aside for 15 minutes
3. Heat a griddle or pan on medium heat, spread a tsp of oil to avoid sticking on the pan
4. Roll each of the plantain pieces in bread crumbs and place them in the hot griddle
5. Sprinkle 2 tbs of water on the pan and put on the lid
6. After about 5 mins flip the plantain pieces to grill the other side(make sure the first side you are grilling has turned golden brown before flipping)
7. Grill the other side until golden brown, turn off the heat.

Serve with Tomato Ketchup, Mustard or any kind of chutney you like. Enjoy :)

CholeTikki

If it looks appetizing, I hear you! Its exceptionally delicious and very simple to make. I had a phobia for making chaat, each attempt up till this one had been a disaster :( However, when I checked out this recipe in a recipe book(I cant recollect the name now) I thought I must give it a try. Pushing my phobia aside I ventured and the end result? It was to die for, seriously! I am totally enamored :)

Ingredients:

For making Tikkis:

1. 2-3 large potatoes (boiled and mashed)
2. 3 finely chopped green chillies(or as per taste)
3. 2 tps Cumin-Coriander powder
4. Pinch of Hing (optional)
5. 2 Bread slices soaked in warm water
6. 2-3 sprigs of cilantro finely chopped
7. 1 tsp lemon juice or alternately amchur powder(dry mango powder)
8. Salt as per taste

For making Chole(chickpeas):

1. 1 can of chole or if you like to make your own: soak whole dry chole overnight->drain->pressure cook
2. 1 Tomato chopped
3. 2-3 Green Chilies finely chopped
4. 2 tbsp Besan(chickpeas flour) dissolved in water(stir well to avoid lumps)
5. 1 tbsp cumin-coriander powder
6. 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
7. 2 tbsp oil
8. pinch of turmeric
9. 2-3 sprigs of Cilantro and mint chopped (optional)
10. 2 tbs Oil
11. Salt as per taste

Method:

For Chole

1. Heat oil in a pan
2. Add cumin-coriander powder, green chillies, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and saute for 1 min
3. Add tomatoes,stir and saute until the tomatoes cook
4. Add Chole and salt. Mix well
5. Pour Besan liquid cover the lid and let it cook until Chole is soft and slightly mushy.

For Tikkis:

1. Mix all the ingredients for potato patties in a bowl
2. Make round balls(ping pong ball sized) and flatten them in your palm in the shape of a patties
3. Heat a griddle or pan on medium heat, spray some oil to avoid sticking and then place the patties on the pan one by one.
4. Let the patties grill until golder brown and then flip over to grill the other side.

Once done serve Tikkis with the chole. It tastes amazing!

Gobi Manchurian

Each time I opened my refrigerator this week there was a lone fella screaming for attention, this cauliflower head had been sitting bored in the refrigerator for a week now. After much deliberation I settled for Gobi Manchurian.

Indian dhabas(street side vendors) usually carry these, they are a bright red and look so appetizing, crunchy at the top and as you sink in deeper you have a sudden explosion of all tastes heaven! Definitely a must try.

1. 1 cup all purpose flour(or Maida)
2. 2 tbs Corn flour
3. 1 tsp Ginger-Garlic paste
4. 2 tsp Red Chilli powder(adjust depending on how much heat you can take)
5. 2 tsp Salt (adjust as per taste)
6. Water

For seasoning:

1. Mustard seeds
2. 5 Garlic cloves finely chopped
3. 1 medium Onion chopped thinly lengthwise
4. 1 medium Bell Pepper chopped thinly lengthwise
5. 4 tbs Soy Sauce

For garnishing:

1. 2-3 sprigs of cilantro chopped finely
2. 2 spring onions chopped finely
3. 2 tsp lemon juice.

Preparation:

1. Add a pinch of salt to 3 cups of water and bring to a boil
2. Add cauliflower florets and let boil for a minute
3. Turn off the heat and let the florets rest in the hot water with lid closed for 5 mins
4. Drain the florets and set aside.
5. Mix all the ingredients mentioned under the Batter section, except for the water
6. Slowly start adding water to the mixture until you get a thick consistency.(The batter should be thick enough to stick to the florets when dipped in the batter)
7. Heat oil in a pan on medium flame. When its warm enough(hold your hand above the pan, if you can feel the heat its hot enough.)Note: take care not to over heat the pan, if you see vapors from the oil it means the oil is over heated.
8. Start dipping the florets in batter and fry until they turn golden brown. Set aside the florets
9. Take a pan with 1 tbs oil, add mustard seeds
10. Once they start spluttering add onions and saute
    
11. Add chopped garlic and bell pepper and a little salt(as per taste)
12. Stir occasionally and cook until the bell pepper is done
13. Add the fried florets and soy sauce, stir well and turn off the heat after 2 -3 mins

Garnish and serve!

My first day here and cheers to a (hopefully) long journey

I love cooking. Let me say that again, I LOVE COOKING. I read cookbooks and blogs, watch food network, discuss traditional Konkani recipes with my mom, dissect the dish in front of me when we dine out, ask people to guess what the ingredients are when I have them over for lunch.. Things I do may sound lame but let me tell you I enjoy it every bit.

I usually end tweaking recipes. You ask Why? Hmm..let me say, because I just cant resist the temptation of adding something that the recipe never called for.

When i am cooking I have people looking over my shoulders with wrinkly noses, knitted eyebrows, constipated looks :-p but that doesn’t deter my unconditional resolve to try out something different. They are not always a success but it leaves me amused and then the remote possibility that I might end up on “Food network”

However when my attempt in the kitchen is a success, it makes it here.