Pav Bhaji(Hot toasted buns with a vegetable gravy)

Well what to say ! I have absolutely No words to describe the Pav Bhaji as it is one of my most favorite dish . Whenever I make Pav Bhaji I would love click pictures but the moment it is ready I forget everything and just gobble it up with hot toasted Pav buns! I just love the Bhaji with vegetables well mashed and here goes the recipe of my favorite dish !

Preparation time :25 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients :

Mixed vegetables ( potatoes,carrot,cauliflower,beans,capsicum peas)-2 cups

Big onion chopped-1 no

Chopped tomatoes-2 nos

Ginger garlic paste-2 tsp

Jeera or cumin-2 tsp

Turmeric powder-1 tsp

Chili powder-1 tsp or as desired 

Pav Bhaji masala-1 tbsp

Salt - as needed

Oil-1 tbsp

To garnish:

Butter-1 tbsp

Chopped Coriander leaves-a few

Sliced lemon-1/2 

Chopped raw onion-1 tbsp

Procedure :

1. Heat a wok with 1 tbsp of oil and add the cumin seeds.After it splutters add the chopped onion and sauté well till the onion turns transparent . 

2. Now add the ginger-garlic paste and mix well.After the raw smell goes off add the tomatoes,salt,turmeric powder,chili powder and the Pav Bhaji masala and sauté till the tomatoes are soft .

3. In a pressure cooker add all the vegetables and cook them for 5-6 whistles and mash the vegetables to a semi purée. Add the onion tomato mixture to the mashed vegetables .

4.Mix everything well and add a little water if it's too thick and boil it for 5 mins in low flame.Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped coriander leaves and chopped onion.Serve with hot Pav buns with a dollop of butter on top.Delicious Pav Bhaji is ready !

Tips :

• You can add a slice of lemon along with Bhaji .
• Reduce or add more of chili powder according to your spice level.

Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda(Fried Rice Flour Crisps)

I am a great fan of the culinary expert Mrs.Revathi Shanmugam. My mom used to try a lot of her recipes and tells me to try it too.One such delectable and delicious recipe is this chettinad ribbon pakoda which is made of par boiled rice. I was so determined to make this dish and Diwali and successfully made it as well. It came out very crispy and tasty that it got over in 2 days.My son loves it and I too joined him in munching these awesome ribbon pakodas. Unlike the regular ribbon pakodas which are made of gram flour these pakodas are light in colour and have a unique flavour. They were too crunchy.

 Ingredients:

Par boiled rice -2 cups

Fries gram dal -1/2 cup

Sago or Javvarisi -1/4 cup

Green chilies-3 no

Hing or asafetida -1 tsp

Coconut milk thick-1/2 cup

Salt-to taste

Refined oil -to deep fry

Procedure :

1.Soak the par boiled rice for 6 hours and grind it in a wet grinder to a thick paste by adding minimum water.To this paste add the coconut milk and mix well .Dry roast the fried gram for a few minutes till nice aroma arises.Keep it aside .

2.In the same wok,add the sago and roast it till it gets slightly puffed up.

3.Powder the fried gram and sago in a mixer to a fine powder.Add it to the ground rice mixture along with asafetida or hing and salt.

4.Grind the green chillies and strain the juice to the rice paste mixture.Mix well and bring it together to a pliable dough.(adding no or little water)

5.Take a small amount of the dough and use a ribbon pakoda press to make the ribbon pakodas.

6.Heat oil in a wok and turn the heat to medium once the oil is heated.Use the press and add the pakodas to the oil and fry them till the oil sound reduces or it is cooked well.

7.Remove them oil and store it in an air tight container.Crispy and yummy Chettinad Ribbon Pakoda is ready.

Tips:

*Use very less water to grind the parboiled rice.If water content is more then we wont be able to make pakodas as the dough will be too watery.

*Roast the sago till it slightly puffs up,if not the pakodas wont be crispy.

*You can add sesame seeds for added flavour.

Vazhaipoo Vadai/Banana Blosssom Fritters

The heavy rains and the chill weather in chennai makes me crave for something crispy and hot.and this recipe which I learnt from my mother is definitely a super hit in my family.yes it is the vazhapoo vadai or banana blossom fritters which I am talking about.even those who don't like vazhaipoo will love this vadai.it is an ideal evening snack with tea or coffee and tastes good with plain hot rice and rasam .

Preparation time :40 mins

Serves:4

Ingredients:

Chopped Vazhaipoo or banana blossom -1 cup

Chopped onion-1 no

Asafetida or Hing-1 tsp

Salt-to taste

Fresh coriander leaves-a small bunch

Mint leaves-6(optional)

Roasted gram dal flour or pottu kadalai maavu -1/4 cup

To be grind to a coarse paste:

Toor dal or pigeon pea -1 cup

Gram dal or kadalai paruppu -3 tbsp

Red chilies-4 or 5

Garlic-4 pods

Ginger-1/2 inch

Fennel seeds-1 tsp

Curry leaves- a small bunch 

Procedure :

1.Soak both the along with red chillies for 30-40 mins.

2.Once it is soaked well and keep the ingredients ready.Drain the water completely from the dals and grind it along with the ingredients given for grinding to a coarse paste.Do not add water .If required sprinkle a few drops.

3.To the ground paste add chopped vazhaipoo,onion,salt,hing,mint and coriander leaves.

4.Then add the pottu kadalai Mavu or roasted gram dal flour to this mixture and mix well.Take a small portion of this mixture and round it to a small ball and press lightly to make vadais.

5. Heat oil in a wok and keep the flame to medium.When the oil is hot ,drop the vadai one by one carefully and fry them till they are golden brown on both sides and drain it in a tissue.

6.Delicious,golden brown and crispy vazhaipoo vadais are ready to be served.

Tips:

*Do not add water when grinding the dals .If the mixture is too watery then add more gram dal flour to get a firm mixture that can be rolled in to vadais.You can even refrigerate the mixture of its a bit watery .

*To clean and chop banana flower refer:

https://snapguide.com/guides/clean-a-banana-blossom-flower/.

*Increase or decrease the amount of chillies based on your spice level.

Falafel

I have never had falafel until I had it in the cream centre restaurant.Cream centre remains our family's favourite and I have almost tried their every item on their menu and that was when I had falafel with pita bread and hummus.yum!!! I could still think how delicious it was !! As a food blogger the next primary concern was to replicate it at home and went through several blogs and got the recipe from here and here.If you make the hummus and the pita bread dough a day ahead then it is very easy to assemble and makes a complete meal.Nothing can beat the taste of fresh falafels prepared at home with pita bread ,hummus and a salad.It serves as a delicious snack and can work wonders with the guests if you are going to host a party.My kiddo loved it just like that and had it like a cutlet.The recipe for pita bread and hummus will be posted shortly.So here goes the falafel recipe !

Serves:4

Preparation time:30 minutes 

Ingredients:

Boiled chickpeas-2 cups

Finely chopped onion-1 no

Chilli powder-1 tsp

Crushed garlic -4 pods

Chopped fresh coriander leaves or parsley -1/4 cup

Cumin powder-1 tsp

Coriander powder-1 tsp

Freshly ground pepper powder-1 tsp

All purpose flour/Maida-3 tbsp

Salt -to taste

Oil-for deep frying 

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the boiled chickpeas,onion,coriander powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,pepper powder and coriander leaves.

2.Mash the chickpeas well with the powders and make a dough to form patties or falafel.

Add 2 tbsp of all purpose flour to this dough.In a small bowl make a thick paste of 1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida.Make round patties of the falafel dough and dip them in this maida paste and deep fry them in medium flame till they are golden brown .

 3.Hot and crispy falafels are ready to be served with pita bread and hummus.It tastes delicious even with a simple tomato ketchup.

Tips:

*The addition of all purpose flour or maida helps as a binding agent and the

 paste helps in keeping the falafel together while frying in oil.

* Make sure the chickpeas is cooked till soft otherwise it will be tough to mash them .

Cucumber Canapes/Cucumber Chat/Cucumber Discs

Back after a nice vacation with family and friends at Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary.We had  great fun and got an opportunity to see few wild animals in its natural habitat.Its been a while since I posted on my blog and finally here I am.Summer calls for vegetables like cucumber and onion.I usually make raita or salad with cucumber.So this time I wanted to make something different and after a lot of browsing and reading I got an idea to make canapes which can be a perfect starter or snack in any party.The use of hung curd and fresh mint makes it more suitable for this summer. You can add fried sev or mixture to the topping when serving for kids and they will love it.These cucumber canapes can also be prepared in a jiffy if you have hung curd or cream cheese ready in your house.

Preparation time:10 minutes

Serves:2

Ingredients:

Hing curd-1/2 cup

Roundly sliced (1 inch thickness)cucumber-1 no

Finely chopped onion-1 small

Red chilli powder -1 tsp

Cumin powder-1 /2 tsp

Chat masala- 1 tsp 

Mint leaves-10 approximately

Sev or mixture (optional)-for topping

Salt-to taste

Procedure:

1.In a bowl add the hung curd(or cream cheese),salt,red chilli powder,cumin powder and chat masala and mix well.

2.Take the cucumber slices and top it with hung curd and sprinkle chopped onion and a mint leaf.You can also add sev or mixture.

3.serve immediately as a snack or starter.Yummy cucumber canapes are ready.

Tips:

*You can also add grated carrot or pomegranate as a topping along with onion.

*Optionally you can get creative and add sweet chutney or green chutney as toppings.Then add sev on top to make cucumber chat.

Ulundu vadai /Medhu vadai recipe( Lentil Fritters)

Who doesn't like the crispy Medhu Vadai? I wanted to post this recipe for a long time but somehow it got postponed ! Though the ingredients are simple making a perfect vadai which is crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside is a skilled task which one can maneuver through practice. My initial vadais were either too hard or the batter was too watery and absorbed more oil. Then I asked my mom for some tips to get a perfect vadai and also took few ideas from vahchef and finally started making nice and perfect vadais.

The outcome will be great if you use a wet grinder to make the batter but for a small family of two or three ,grinding in wet grinder would be a huge amount of effort and a waste of time.So there are some points to take care when grinding in a mixer or blender and voila you can achieve the same great result from your mixie. Also make sure to use a good quality urad dal as it plays an important role in getting perfect vadais.

So please read every step in the procedure and follow them to get good vadais.

Preparation time:20 mins(+1 hour for soaking)

Makes:12 to 15 vadas

Ingredients:

Urad dal or ulundu -1 cup

Green chillies-2(based on your spice level)

Curry leaves-few

Asafetida or Hing-1 tsp

Salt - to taste

Finely chopped onion-1 no

Finely chopped coriander leaves-1 tbsp( optional) oil- to fry

Procedure:

1.Soak urad dal along with green chillies and curry leaves for an hour.i used udhayam brand urad dal.

2.After one hour drain all the water and place the ingredients in a mixer and use the pulse mode to beat the ingredients by stopping in between for few seconds.If you feel the mixture is too thick then keep sprinkling water and continue to use the pulse mode for a minute by stopping in between as told above.Then grind it in the normal mode for few seconds and stop.Then repeat it again till the dal has become a smooth and fluffy paste.The stopping in between helps in incorporating air to the batter which helps in getting us a good vada.

3.Add salt,asafoetida and onion to the mixture and stir the mixture by hand for minute.This mixing by hand is very important as it also helps in making the batter light and fluffy.

4.Take a small amount of the batter and drop in to a cup of water .The batter must float .If so, the consistency is correct.if not then keep mixing the batter by hand and try the water test again.Then take a plastic cover or banana leaf and place a small amount of batter on it.Then dip your hand in water and flatten it and pierce a hole in between .

5.Heat oil in a medium heat and drop the vadai in to  it carefully.Then grease the cover or leaf with water and repeat with the next vadai.The application of water to plastic cover or leaf helps in getting the vada out of it easily without sticking to it.

 

6.Fry till they are golden brown in colour under medium heat so that it ensured even cooking of vadas. 

7.Serve hot with coconut chutney.It tastes great just like that and hence I couldn't resist!

Tips:

• Use very little water by sprinkling as needed.Do not add at one stretch as the batter may become watery.
• Avoid onions if you do not want them.
• You can add a small piece of ginger to the urad dal before grinding.
• Instead of green chillies,you can either add whole peppercorns or pepper powder.

Vegetable Spring Roll

Everytime I go to the supermarket,I peep in to the deep frozen section for puff pastry sheets and end up in vain as I won't be able to find puff pastry sheets.To my surprise,this time I was able to grab the spring roll pastry sheets out of the freezer and I was quite happy because this means, I could try out a lot of things like spring roll,samosa etc and their baked versions as well.I tried baked veg spring rolls and it came out pretty well but couldn't click pictures as it was my maiden attempt with these sheets.For the second time,I wanted to make deep fried vegetable spring rolls as it was for one of my friend who is pregnant and sounded ideal as a snack for a cup of tea and some chit chat in the mid morning.It came out super delicious and crispy and we enjoyed it thoroughly.I just wished my pastry sheets were a bit longer so that I could have made bigger spring rolls,otherwise it's perfect for a snack or as a party starter.

Preparation time:35 mins

Makes:18 rolls

Ingredients:

Spring roll pastry sheets-1 pack

Shredded Cabbage-100 gms

Carrot (julienne slices or finely chopped )-1 no

Thinly sliced capsicum-1 no

Thinly sliced onion- 1 no

Soy sauce-1 tsp

Salt-to taste

Pepper powder-1 tsp

Sugar -1 tsp

All purpose flour- 1 tbsp

Oil-for deep frying

To be grind to a fine paste:

Green chillies-2(mildly hot)

Ginger-1/2 inch

Garlic-4 pods

Vinegar-2 tsp

Procedure:

1.Grind the ingredients given for grinding to a fine paste and get the veggies ready.

2.Heat a tbsp of oil with a tsp of sugar.Once it caramelizes, add the onions and saute well.

3.Then add the ground paste followed by other vegetables.the vegetables needs to be sautéed and not cooked completely.

4.Add freshly ground pepper and soy sauce and salt.Switch off the flame once everything is sautéed well.

5.Now defrost the spring roll pastry sheets and make a thick paste of all purpose flour or maida using a tbsp of water for pasting the rolls.

6.Lay a single sheet on a board or large plate.Keep the filling in the left mid corner and fold the left edge to the centre.Then fold both the sides as in image 3 and glue it using the flour paste.Now apply the paste on the top open edge and paste it as in image 4.

7.Prepare the other rolls in similar manner and keep it ready.you can use a moist cloth to cover it and to prevent the rolls going dry.Heat the oil and deep fry the rolls till they are golden brown and crisp.

8.Drain the oil over a tissue and serve hot with tomato ketchup .

Tips:

*You can use chilli paste instead of grinding green chillies with vinegar.in that case you ginger garlic paste separately.

*You can also bake the rolls by keeping it in a preheated oven at 200 C for 25-30 mins.If you are baking them then brush the rolls with oil and keep it on a greased aluminum tray.