Paav Bhaji

Paav Bhaji is a very popular street side food in Mumbai, its a medley of vegetables(bhaji) cooked together and spiced with a special masala, called Paav Bhaji masala. Its garnished with finely chopped onions, cilantro and some fresh lime. Served with lightly buttered and toasted hamburger buns(paav)

Ingredients:
3 cups of cauliflower florets
3 potatoes peeled
1 bell pepper, minced
2 cup tomato puree
1 cup peas
1 tbsp butter(optional)

Spices:
1 tbsp Paab-Bhaji masala
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste

Garnishing:
finely chopped onion
couple of sprigs of cilantro chopped
1/4 lime

Method:

Pressure cook the florets, peas and potatoes together, until done(usually takes 2- 3 whistles). In a deep pan heat a little oil and sauté the bell pepper followed by ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder and chili powder. Add the tomato puree and let it cook for a few minutes. Next add all the cooked vegetables, salt, butter and the paav bhaji masala. Mash the vegetables in the pan if you see any vegetable chunks, so tha it starts looking like a homogeneous mixture. Check the consistency if its too thick you could add some water at this point. Let the mixture come to a boil on medium heat for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl ladle some paav bhaji and garnish with onion, cilantro and a few drops of lime juice. Serve along side toasted and buttered hamburger buns. Enjoy! :)

Stuffed Peppers

Pepper stuffed with cheese and vegetables, dipped in chickpea flour and then deep fried. If you are a meat lover you could substitute the vegetable mixture with the meat of your choice.

Ingredients for the stuffing:
1. 4 Chili peppers
2. Left over vegetable dry curry(or you could make a fresh batch like the one in vegetable puffs stuffing)
3. 4 tbsps Mozzarella cheese

Ingredients for the coating:
1. 1 cup chickpea flour
2. 2 tsp red chili powder
3. Water
4. Salt to taste

Method for the batter:
Mix all the ingredients for the coating except water. Add water slowly and keep whisking the mixture. Dont make the batter too runny, it should be thick enough to stick to the pepper when you dip it in the mixture.

Stuffing and frying:
1. Slit the pepper along the length from end to en andd remove all the seeds from the inside
2. Distribute equally the cheese and vegetable mixture and stuff the peppers
3. Dip the stuffed peppers in the batter and deep fry.

Veg Puff pastry

I have previously posted Egg puff recipe. A slight modification to it is its veg counterpart. It involves the same pepperidge farm's puff pastry sheets which need to be thawed for about 40mins at room temperature before using.

Ingredients:
4 Boiled and cubed potatoes
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander powder
1 green chili finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
1/2 inch ginger finely chopped

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 potatoes,salt and stir well. 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 6 equal squares. Put the potato 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.

You could add more vegetables like mushrooms, beans, peas and corn to the vegetable stuffing. I didn't have anything extra with me so I kept it simple.

Tri colored Vermicelli

Vermicelli is one of those dishes that is hassle free and gets ready in a jiffy. I spent 10 mins in the kitchen(including cooking time), awesome dish as a breakfast or an evening snack. A cup of hot tea to go along with it is a bonus. Tri-colored vermicelli gets its name from the 3 vegetables we use, namely peas, carrots and corn.


Ingredients:

1/4 cup of mixed vegetables - Peas, diced carrots and Corn (I used frozen)
1 cup vermicelli
1 cup water
2 tbsp oil
1 green chili chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera seeds
1/4 tsp sugar
salt to taste
lemon for garnish

Method:

1. Lightly roast vermicelli in 1 tbsp of oil to get a golden brown color
2. In a separate pan heat a tbsp of oil and add mustard followed by jeera
3. Next add green chili and veggies, saute it a bit
4. Add water and let water boil.
5. Next add vermicelli and cook covered on a medium flame
6. Take off heat when done, garnish with a lemon wedge when serving.

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

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!

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!