Idly manchurian

I am always a fan of Gobi manchurians. This is an excellent starter and have tried it in all ranges, from street-side shops to restaurants. This week when I had excess idly batter, I made some idlys keeping in mind to try out this mouth-watering Manchurian with fried idly. It came out very good and we all enjoyed a variety snack this evening.

I thought  that idly may absorb lots of oil. But if the batter is perfect, its as good as Gobi Manchurian with less oil in idly.

Ingredients:
Idly - 8
Chopped onions - 1 small size
Chopped capsicum - 2 cups
Red chilli sauce - 1 tsp
Soy sauce - 3 tsp
Tomato ketchup - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 2 (I skipped for kids)
Finely Chopped Ginger & garlic - 1 tbsp each
Salt
Water - 2 tbsp
Sesame Oil - 2 tsp

Batter for frying idly
Corn flour - 4 tbsp
Rice flour - 1 tsp
Salt - very little as idly has salt already
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Oil - to fry

Procedure:

First mix the ingredients for the batter with little water. It need not be too watery or too thin. As that tends to absorb more oil. So maintain a slight thick consistency. Cut the idlys into cubes and roll over them in the batter. Fry them in hot oil till golden brown. Drain them and keep aside Heat sesame oil (or any other u use regularly) in a pan and saute the chopped ginger and garlic. To this add green chillies and onions. After sauting for a minute add peppers/Capsicum and saute till it turns tender. add the soy, chilli and tomato sauce one by one and little salt. now if needed add little water and let the gravy get mixed well. To this add the fried Idly and mix well. And turn off flame. Arrange in a plate and sprinkle spring onions and serve hot.

Pav Bhaji

This is a famous street dish on the roads of Mumbai but has got famous allover Indian. The Bhaji is the main thing which is served with Pav bun and the combination is exotic. The aroma and color are most inviting for this dish. Its quite nutricious too as it has lots of veggies in it, potato being the main. This compensates for the butter we add to the recipe. I actually served this bhaji with Hotdog buns but that didn't had anything les for the dish except have to be called as Hotdog Bhaji. :-),. I actually grinded my own Bhaji Masala, but u can always use store bought Pav bhaji Masala powders.

Ingredients:

Pav buns - 20

Big Potato -1
Carrots - 1
Cauliflower - 4 big florets
Green peas - 1/2 cup
Capsicum - 1/2 cup
Green chilli -2
Onions - 1 chopped finely
Tomatoes - 1 chopped finely
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Salt
butter - 1 tbsp
Red food color - optional

To saute and grind
Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
Coriander seeds - 2 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch
garlic - 3

Procedure:

Pressure cook all the vegetables from potato to green chillies with 1 cup of water till they become well cooked. This has to be mashed so cook very well. Vegetables are your choice and u can add or reduce any vegetables

Mean while saute the ingredients for grinding with little oil and grind to a smooth paste with water

In a pan heat 1/2tsp butter and add the chopped onions and tomatoes one by one and saute very well. This has to be cooked well but take care not to burn them. To this add the ground paste and red chilli powder. Cook well and add little water if needed.

Mash the vegetables that we pressure cooked. we don't want to see anything whole so mash very well. Add this to the pan and mix well and mash again. Now add the food color if needed (I didn't) and salt.

Finally add remaining butter and chopped coriander leaves

When this is ready toast the buns with butter and serve with Bhaji. While serving decorate with fresh chopped onions, coriander leaves and lemon juice.

Let your soul say yummy while u enjoy..

Palak Paneer

If there is one dish in which my family loves Spinach, my vote is undoubtedly for "Palak Paneer". Its simple and nutritious dish makes my family have an extra bite of chapati. Lets go for the recipe now.

Ingredients:

Palak leaves - a bunch
Paneer - 150gm, cubed
Milk - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1
Green chillies -2
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 4
Cloves -3, cardamom stick - 1/2
Oil - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1/2tsp
Salt


Procedure:

Heat oil in a pan and add cloves and cardamom. After they splutter add ginger, garlic, green chillies and onions. Saute them well and add the washed palak leaves to this. Cook for 3 minutes and turn off the flame to let it cool.

Grind, after it cools down to a smooth paste.

Heat butter in a pan and the ground paste. Add salt and let it boil for a minute. To this add the milk and let it boil for 1 more minute.

You can add cream to this instead of milk which enhances the flavor more. Turn off flame.

Before serving add the cubed paneer pices to the gravy. If the paneer pieces are not fresh, you can deep/shallow fry them and add it.

Serve with ur favorite rice or Rotis.

Vegetable Biriyani

After marriage I had tried Vegetable biriyani so many times. But failure every time. I don't know how such an easy recipe which my mom will make so tasty cud be a flop. But slowly I observed many people cooking and corrected and now I could say its somewat to my mom's level. There are so many things which could get the nice aroma and taste. Starting from ingredients, the amount of sauting, cooking time etc., If we miss few things the taste definitely varies. So experience is the best teacher.

Now, here goes the recipe.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1 cup

Sliced Onions - 1, sliced

Tomatoes - 1, chopped

Mix vegetables - 1 cup (I used carrots, beans, potatos and green peas)

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Yogurt - 1 tbsp

Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Chilly powder - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 pinch

Salt

Whole garam masala (Cloves -3, cardamom stick - 1/2, Cardamom/Elachi-1, bay leaves -1)

Butter /Oil - 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves, chopped - 1 tbsp

Mint leaves, chopped - 1 tsp

Procedure:

Heat Oil in a pan and add the whole garam masala

To this add the Onions first. Let the onions cook to tender and turn light brown. Do this on low flame as it will not burn the onions. Next to this add the ginger garlic paste. Adding this next to onions gives good time for onions to get fried. If we add ginger garlic first then it tends to stick to the bottom of the pan and the onions may not be sautee well

Now add the tomatoes and keep cooking well till it gets mashed

Next is to add the mixed veggies. Now we can add the salt, turmeric and chilly powder but hold adding coriander and mint leaves

Once all the vegetables are mixed well, turn of the flame. Now add the yogurt, lemon juice and chopped mint and coriander leaves. Mix well. The reason for adding at the end is hold the aroma of the leaves wen the rice is getting cooked. Also turning off the flame, helps the yogurt to get mixed well. Now add the clean and dranied basmati rice

Add 1 and 3/4 cup of water and put it the pressure cooker. (Alternatively you can use rice cooker)

After 1 whislte reduce the flame to very low for 4 minutes. After 4 minutes, increase the flame and allow for 2 more whisltes. Turn of the flame and open after pressure is released.

Awesome Vegetable Biriyani is ready.

Quick tips:

Addition of lemon juice, yogurt and mint leaves gives a nice aroma and great taste.

Saute the onions and vegetables for the perfect time and add enough oil. A little extra oil means extra taste.

If using pressure cooker, instead of cooking the rice directly in the pressure cooker, use a separate bowl that will fit in your cooker. Fill the cooker base with 1 cup water and keep the bowl with the rice and the measured amount of water inside. Cooking procedure and time will be the same as usual. This way you can avoid rice burning at the bottom.

Beetroot Moongdal Pakoda

One beetroot was sleeping in my refridgerator for a long time. Lasttime when I made beetroot poriyal, it was left with me at end as noone had interest. An idea striked suddenly and they were transformed to pakodas shorlty. My usual pakoda are made of onion and gramflour. This is very different as it is made with moongdal and had the slight sweetness of beets. In fact I thought it was a healthy pakodas though being deepfried.

Ingredients:

Beetroot - 1, shredded

Onions - 1, thinly sliced

Chopped Curry leaves, coriander leaves - 2 tbsp

Salt

Oil - to deep fry

To coarsely Grind:

Yellow Moong Dal - 1/2 cup (soak for 1 hr)

Fennel seeds - 1 tsp

Red chilly - 1

Ginger - 1 inch, thinly sliced,chopped

Garlic - 3 crushed into pieces

Procedure:

1. Wash the soaked moong dal and grind coarsely with fennel seeds, ginger, garlic and Red chilly. Please grind without any water.

2. To this add the beetroot, onions, curry and coriander leaves. Mix salt to this.

3. Heat oil in a pan. Make small balls and drop in the hot oil slowly.

4. Cook it medium heat, till cooked on all sides.

5. Drain the oil well and serve hot.

I am sending this recipe for "Only" Snacks And Starters event happening at Vegetarian Tastebuds

Kulfi Icecream

Days back wen I was little, I'll be waiting for the icecream bell to ring on a hot day evening. Yeah. We get Kulfi icecream on the streets ringing their bells after 7pm. We'll finish our homeworks and waiting for the treats. Yum.. We can cut it in slices and have on a small banana leaf or have it in a stick licking all way home. Wow!! It'll just melt. I forgot those memories, until a friend offered me one she made herself.


When I searched the recipe, it was simple. There are many recipes which we can make with just milk. And some need condensed milk and Whipped cream. Mine is a fusion cos I've used condensed milk and skipped whipped cream and have boiled the whole milk too. Here I go with the actual recipe. Super simple and definitely a pleasure to have on a sunny day evening after ur supper. Enjoy!!

You may need some containers to freeze them. I used paper cups but if you have popsicle molds it will be great use.

Ingredients:

Condensed milk - 1 can (you can reduce if you don't want to be too sweet)

Evaporated milk - 1 can

Whole milk - 1 cup

Corn starch - 1 tbsp (mix corn flour in water)

Bread slice - 1 (trim the corners)

Cardomom powder - 1/2 tsp

Nuts - 2 tbsp (almonds, pistachios, walnuts)

Procedure:

Cut bread into small pieces. Grind the bread pieces with corn starch and a little milk to a smooth paste

Mix eavaporated milk and condensed milk together

Heat a cup of whole milk in a heavy bottomed pan. Keep stirring until it boils

To this add the mix of evaporated and condensed milk and keep stirring on medium flame

After about 10 minutes with frequent stirring add the ground bread paste. The mix will tend to thicken and so keep stirring so it won't burn on bottom

Boil for another 10 minutes until it reaches a thick pouring consistency. Now add cardamom powder and nuts and turn of the flame.

Let it cool and you can freeze in popsicle containers. Optionally you can freeze in bowl and cut while serving. cover the top with aluminium foil or polythene wraps.

Let it freeze for 5-6 hrs. Serve cold.

I am sending this for the Chilled Delights event happening at Ticklingpalates

Vegetable Kurma / Vegetable Masala Kuzhambu

This vegetable kurma is one of my favourite side dish for chapathi which I learnt from my MIL. We also call it as masala kuzhambu. It goes well with rice as well. It requires only less amount of coconut which is good healthwise. Also the consistency of this gravy is thick and tasty.

Ingredients:

 

Chopped mixed Vegetables (I used carrots, beans, potato and peas) - 1 cup
Onion - 1 No
Tomato -1 Medium size
Garlic - 2 cloves
Ginger   - 1 small piece
Fennel seeds -1/2 tsp
Cashew nuts - 3-4 (optional)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Coconut gratings - 1 tbsp
Whole garam masala - 3 cloves, 1 piece cinnamon
Salt - According to taste
Oil - As needed
To Season:
Mustard seeds -1 tsp (optional)
Curry leaves
 
Procedure:

Fry the fennel seeds, whole garam masla,  sliced onions and cashew nuts (if using) in oil by adding one by one.

When the onions become transparent (3-4) minutes, add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a while, till soft.

Once this mixture is cooled, grind it to a fine paste along with coconut, chilli and coriander powder.

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, curry leaves and allow it to splutter.

Add the chopped vegetables and saute for a while. Pour water, add turmeric powder, salt and cook the vegetables till almost done.
Now add the ground masala, add water and allow it boil. Adjust salt and spice.

Switch off at the required consistency and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Vegetable kurma is ready to taste with chapathi/roti/rice or even idly/dosa. I made this was for dosa and it was really yummy!

You can also add other vegetables like capscium, cauliflower or even paneer to this kurma.